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Berlin / Düsseldorf (dpa) - CDU boss Armin Laschet wants to think about the Easter days about which measures could effectively contain the third wave of the corona pandemic.
The jointly decided Easter rest did not work, said Laschet on Wednesday evening in the ZDF “heute journal”.
“That is why we now have to think about the Easter days together, what is a substitute, where can we introduce further protective mechanisms, where can we bring life down, this has to be discussed.
There is just no solution if you ask me. "
When asked whether there was still time to think about it for a few days in view of the rapidly increasing number of infections, the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister said: “No, we don't have the time, but we saw Maundy Thursday / Holy Saturday as an example that if you decide something too quickly, the practitioners will say: It won't work. "
Therefore it is good that you are now considering exactly that.
«What is effective, what does it achieve that we break this third wave.
The situation is extremely serious and everyone is currently examining all possibilities. "
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With the Easter rest, the federal and state governments wanted to declare Maundy Thursday and Holy Saturday to be rest days in addition to the Easter holidays.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) canceled the regulation.
In view of the increasing numbers, Research Minister Anja Karliczek called on citizens before the holidays to keep contacts as low as possible: "Especially at Easter we should all shift down one or more gears," she told the German Press Agency.
The number of new infections reported within seven days per 100,000 inhabitants (seven-day incidence) was 132.3 nationwide on Wednesday morning, according to the RKI.
The numbers have recently increased strongly, which is also due to the very contagious Corona variant B.1.1.7, which was first discovered in Great Britain.
This has now reached a share of 88 percent in Germany.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced this on Wednesday evening with reference to tests from the past week (March 22-28).
Their share has risen continuously.
The spread of the variant is worrying because "according to previous knowledge, it is significantly more contagious and probably causes more severe disease courses than other variants."
A further increase in Covid cases in clinics can therefore be expected.
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The scientific director of the Divi intensive care registry, Christian Karagiannidis, warned of an overcrowding in Germany's intensive care units within four weeks.
“Since mid-March, an additional 1,000 intensive care patients have ended up in the hospitals.
If this speed continues, we will have reached the regular capacity limit in less than four weeks, ”said Karagiannidis of the“ Rheinische Post ”.
The new chairman of the board of the German Hospital Society (DKG), Gerald Gaß, criticized such warnings in the “Rheinische Post”: “I am also convinced that the horror scenarios that have been spreading for days from the field of intensive care medicine, neither in politics nor in politics will lead to the likely intended reactions in the population. "
With regard to communication in general, Gass said: “Current political communication does not provide credibility or public trust.
If one of the Prime Ministers warns of incidence rates of 700 and the other declares his entire state to be a pilot project, from my point of view that is the exact opposite of what citizens can expect from politics. "
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The German Association of Cities also sees a need for improvement in communication - but with a view to the Astrazeneca vaccine.
Managing Director Helmut Dedy told the German Press Agency: “We now need clear and very intensive communication from the federal and state governments on the vaccines.
After this Astrazeneca decision, people need to get an overview as easily as possible: Which vaccines are used for which groups of the population?
What are the advantages and risks of vaccinations? "
On Tuesday evening, following a recommendation from the Standing Vaccination Commission, the federal and state governments decided to generally only use Astrazeneca for people aged 60 and over.
Younger people should be able to continue to be vaccinated “according to the doctor's judgment and in the case of an individual risk analysis after careful information”.
The background is cases of blood clots (thromboses) in cerebral veins.
Dedy said the vaccination campaign in Germany had "unfortunately" suffered a setback.
“The recommendation to vaccinate people over 60 with Astrazeneca now creates additional work in the communal vaccination centers.
But if there are indications of medical risks, these must be investigated.
People need to have confidence in the safety of the vaccinations.
That is the be-all and end-all. "
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, does not see the start of vaccinations in general practitioners' practices in April due to the partial Astrazeneca vaccination ban.
"And that's not because the vaccination start in the doctor's office will initially only begin with the vaccine from Biontech and not with Astrazeneca," said Gassen of the "Rheinische Post".
According to this decision, the Astrazeneca vaccine will now mainly be used in the vaccination centers, while vaccines from Biontech and Johnson & Johnson are more likely to be used in practices, said Gassen.
Germany's statutory health insurance doctors want to avoid vaccinating people under the age of 60 with the Astrazeneca vaccine anyway.
"The time required for advice and intensive education of younger patients is diametrically opposed to a quick vaccination campaign," said the deputy head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Stephan Hofmeister, of the editorial network Germany (RND).
"We want to vaccinate quickly and quickly."
Therefore, the federal association recommends injecting Astrazeneca only to people over 60.
In the event that a doctor wanted to vaccinate with Astrazeneca, the KBV vice-president said: "The practice's obligation is higher because in a possible process it must be explained in detail that all information and advice obligations have been met."
The head of the German Association of General Practitioners, Ulrich Weigeldt, told the RND: "I would advise colleagues to wait until the facts are clearer and more detailed before vaccinating under 60-year-olds with this vaccine."
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