Health Minister Jens Spann recently spoke of a “national emergency” and left open the possibility of a new general lockdown, while the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wheeler, described the country as “a major coronavirus outbreak”. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, patients have to be transported from state to state due to the overburdening of the health system.
“In simple words: we are in the most difficult situation of the pandemic. We are in the “ten”, Mr. Span pointed out and admitted that the state should have pointed out earlier that with such a low vaccination rate, the fourth wave cannot be addressed.
Addressing those who still refuse to be vaccinated, the Minister of Health stated in a dramatic tone: “I do not understand, what else should happen? We cannot drag them all to an Intensive Care Unit. And I do not think of a mandatory vaccination, because only with vaccination, with booster vaccination, we will no longer break this wave, something we need in the short term. That is why additional contact restrictions are necessary, such as a “lockdown for the unvaccinated”. However, answering a question about whether there is a possibility of imposition and general lockdown, such as the one that will be implemented in Austria from next Monday, Mr. Span stressed: “We are in a situation in which we must not rule out anything (…) This it will be the week of decisions “. He referred to the dramatic situation faced by many hospitals in the country, most notably the situation in Bavaria, where only 3% of ICU beds are free.
For his part, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wheeler, said that “the number of cases is now unacceptably high” and compared the situation with a tanker approaching the wall of the port. “If we turn it now in the opposite direction with all our might, then it may continue to move for a while and may hit the port sideways. Let’s just hope it doesn’t collide head-on with the wall. “We have to take action now,” Wheeler said, adding that medical care was no longer guaranteed in many areas. “The closure of vaccination gaps and the rules for access to services and facilities for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered are no longer sufficient. “We need an extensive reduction of contacts to slow down the spread of the virus,” he said, calling for “anyone who can stay at home”, canceling large events, reducing the number of people at smaller events and closing “hotspots”. bars and clubs. In addition, he noted, the application of the rules must be strictly controlled.
.
