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Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) is preparing the Germans so that further easing of the corona measures is not possible until further notice.

“The increasing number of cases may mean that we will not be able to take any further opening steps in the coming weeks.

On the contrary, you may even have to take steps backwards, ”said Spahn on Friday at a press conference with Lars Schaade, Vice President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), and the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach.

Ideally, the federal states should agree on uniform steps.

“This week has shown us how unpredictable this virus is.

I understand the longing for quick solutions.

But there is no such thing, "said Spahn and underlined:" We are in the third wave, the numbers are increasing, the proportion of mutations is high.

There are quite challenging weeks ahead of us. "

An honest analysis of the situation should include: "There is not yet enough vaccine in Europe to stop the third wave through vaccination alone," he said.

“Even if the deliveries from EU orders come reliably, it will still take a few weeks before the risk groups are fully vaccinated.

Only then can we talk about wider openings in society.

So we will still need a lot of staying power. "

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At the moment, over seven million Germans have received the first vaccination, that is every tenth adult.

It is planned that from April 19, vaccinations will also take place in general practitioners' practices.

"I wouldn't mind if we could start earlier."

Lauterbach: "We have to go back to lockdown"

In view of the exponentially increasing number of infections, Lauterbach demanded: “We have to go back into lockdown.

The earlier you react, the shorter it is. ”Based on the current figures, Germany will again have more than 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days by mid-April.

In addition to the incidence of 200, there will also be an overload of the intensive care units.

He also urged the Germans not to take a vacation over Easter: "If we now have a wave of travel, we will fire the third wave." All travelers should be tested on their return.

He also advocated giving as many first vaccinations as possible and not changing the sequence, i.e. continuing to vaccinate the risk groups first.

RKI Vice President Lars Schaade also warned of difficult weeks: "It is very possible that we will have a similar situation around Easter as we did before Christmas with very high case numbers, very many severe courses with deaths and hospitals that are heavily burdened." appealed to the people to reduce their contacts and to adhere to the hygiene rules: “Spend the Easter days only in your closest circle.

I also ask you not to travel at home or abroad. "