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Lockdown until Easter?
For Union parliamentary deputy Georg Nüßlein, this is an almost impossible idea, despite the concern about the virus mutation.
He calls for more targeted measures and alternative strategies instead of blanket closures.
WORLD:
Mr. Nüßlein, you have asked for the corona measures to be relaxed after February 14th.
Why?
Georg Nüßlein:
I didn't ask for it in such an undifferentiated manner.
First, there are more than two weeks of lockdown left and we have to motivate people to keep doing it.
But we are - as of today - before a complex situation: On the one hand, there is a lockdown, which - thank God - lowers the number of infections, and a majority who supports the restrictions;
on the other hand, there are growing burdens, for example from homeschooling or economic problems.
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Above all of this hangs the sword of Damocles from currently three known mutations.
If the sword of Damocles does not strike, which I hope, the pressure to loosen it will be great.
The risk is therefore not gone.
So we need ways with manageable social and economic effects and yet controllable risk of infection.
Not easy.
WORLD:
You mentioned the mutants.
When is this sword of Damocles no longer so dangerous?
Nüßlein:
Nobody can predict that.
But what I read about the Spanish flu in 1918, for example, justifies the concern about the virus adapting to humans.
How much more contagious and dangerous they are is largely unclear.
The round of prime ministers with the chancellor will soon have to weigh precisely this risk.
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WORLD:
Others still talk about lockdown until Easter, even for the time afterwards.
Nüßlein:
You can't predict anything at the moment.
My aim is to see other aspects besides the important health side.
Let us think, for example, of the parents who have to “school” children at home and earn money at the same time.
Let us think of the children themselves or the people who are losing their livelihoods.
Then it becomes clear that the long duration of the pandemic calls for alternative strategies with clear perspectives.
That is precisely why the Prime Minister's Conference set up a working group.
Mass tests and medical masks must play a central role in this.
And more data for a targeted approach.
Take the hairdressing salons, for example.
Customers should be infected by the hairdresser.
A particular frequency of this occupational group should therefore be reflected in the figures.
So that we don't misunderstand each other: As an emergency measure, the closing was correct.
As the pandemic lasts longer, we will have to act even more specifically.
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WORLD:
The people behaved in an exemplary manner on Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Otherwise we would not have a sharp drop in the number of infections.
So is it imperative to reward them for it?
Nüßlein:
Rewarding is probably not the correct expression.
But we have to trust people to do something.
Trust them that they have learned to deal carefully with the pandemic and to be able to avoid risks.
The holidays were proof of that.
And of course for the fact that the government has set the right course.
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WORLD:
You speak of diligence and it still seems impossible to protect retirement homes.
Nüßlein:
It is incomprehensible to me why the owners of some homes think that visitors and employees cannot be tested.
I think that's negligent and unacceptable.
Enough homes also show that it is possible.
Of course, the homes also need more staff.
This is a subject that has been a political issue for us for a long time.
The Bundeswehr steps in for a short time.
But the district administrators also have to request them.
WORLD:
So we have to sanction the sponsors of the homes?
Nüßlein:
I would be happy if it wasn't only possible with force.
But if in doubt, the home supervisor must intervene.
Many homes also have exemplary hygiene concepts.
WORLD:
Which figures are actually still meaningful?
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Nüßlein:
The number of deaths cannot be classified precisely because reports are often sent weeks late.
You still complain to me, and I am not one of those who discuss the question of “died with or of Corona”.
Personally, I think the number of people in intensive care units is the most important.
From my point of view, the yardstick of politics must be to prevent triage.
No doctor should have to decide who can be ventilated and who must die.
This is our most important mission.
WORLD:
The vaccination is only progressing very slowly.
There is not enough vaccine and the scheduling of appointments with the federal states is bumpy.
Are you disappointed with the governments in the countries?
Nüßlein:
That depends on the state.
My impression on site in Bavaria is that the structures are in place.
Sometimes there may be a problem with making an appointment, but most of all there is a lack of vaccine.
And the manufacturers who do not keep their promises are primarily responsible for this.
Nevertheless, I am convinced that it will be available on a larger scale soon.
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WORLD:
The USA, Great Britain, Israel have much more vaccine than the EU has.
Were we just too stingy?
Nüßlein:
Israel supposedly paid twice as much as the EU.
But the question is: do we want a bidding competition from which less affluent countries will necessarily have to drop out at some point?
I think that is a difficult principle.
The pandemic spares no one.
WORLD:
Russia also has its own vaccine.
Should the EU approach Russia to explore a possible approval?
Nüßlein:
Every vaccine must have a proper European approval.
That is the basis for trust.
But everything that is permitted can be inoculated.
The Federal Minister of Health has set the goal that everyone will receive a vaccination offer by summer.
He has my fullest support for this.
However, only the pharmaceutical companies can produce the vaccine.
WELT:
Half a year ago there was talk that Germany and Europe had to become more self-sufficient again.
Now we are once again experiencing tremendous dependence on vaccines.
Have we made any progress on the subject?
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Nüßlein:
The topic is on the agenda at least now.
In the past, people only talked about money, now possible dependencies are gradually being taken into account.
I have started an initiative to move production back to Europe.
To be more self-sufficient, we have to change the framework.
An example: Generics may only be produced in Europe when the patent has expired.
It's different in Asia.
So the companies there are preparing for the opening so as not to lose any time or market share.
We are doing our part to ensure that medicine is produced in parts of the world where labor is cheap and environmental standards do not apply.
And in the end, untreated wastewater runs into rivers, where multi-resistant germs then develop.
What do we gain by sticking to such rules?
Nothing.
But on the contrary.
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