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Berlin (dpa) - The third corona wave in Germany is to be broken with nationwide uniform rules.
To this end, the Infection Protection Act is to be sharpened in an urgent procedure - according to the federal government's plan.
Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus warns of rifts with the countries.
«There must be no front between the federal government and the states.
We depend on the fact that we fight this pandemic together, ”Brinkhaus told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
But he welcomed the push for more uniformity.
"We as the Bundestag are unhappy that the leeway that we give the countries in the Infection Protection Act is too often exercised inconsistently," said Brinkhaus.
The Bundestag could now specify in more detail in the Infection Protection Act what must be done if the corona numbers exceed certain limits.
"We just have to be careful that we get this off the ground together and not against the federal states," said Brinkhaus.
Because the implementation of the measures is the responsibility of the federal states.
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The federal government is counting on the change in the Infection Protection Act to go quickly: According to the deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer, they should be decided by the cabinet in the coming week.
The next meeting of the federal government will be brought forward from Wednesday to Tuesday.
The Bundestag has to approve the changes, it is scheduled to meet from Wednesday to Friday.
The Federal Council must also approve the re-sharpening.
The next meeting of the regional chamber is planned for May 7th, but there could be a special meeting.
In the event that the seven-day incidence in a region exceeds 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, the federal and state governments agreed rules at the beginning of March: All relaxation of the corona measures would therefore have to be completely reversed.
However, in the past few weeks it has been shown in many cases that this so-called emergency brake was not being used sufficiently - as Merkel had criticized, for example.
Apparently, these rules are now to be made binding in the Infection Protection Act.
It was initially unclear what the additional regulations might look like.
A struggle between the federal government and the federal states seems preprogrammed
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The SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich told the editorial network Germany (RND): "Changes to the Infection Protection Act can provide more clarity and counteract the impression of a patchwork quilt."
It is not about a shift of competence from the states to the federal government, but about transparency and commitment.
The SPD parliamentary group will take a close look at the draft for the Infection Protection Act, which is being drawn up in the federal government.
A quick but orderly procedure is assured.
The Association of Cities also welcomed the fact that a common national framework is to be created.
In order to regain trust, good communication from the federal and state levels is needed, said City Council President Burkhard Jung to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
"So far there has been too much confusion in the countries".
The emergency brake must be applied consistently so that the corona situation does not get out of control.
In view of the increasing number of patients in the third corona wave, the chairman of the World Medical Association warned against the worsening of the situation in German hospitals.
"We are now being caught up in the clinics by the infections that took place four weeks ago," said Frank Ulrich Montgomery of the "Passauer Neue Presse" (PNP).
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The triage will also be "definitely" back in the room.
Triage means that medical professionals must decide who to help first due to scarce resources.
«We were very grateful that it wasn't needed in the first two waves.
It is conceivable that there will be situations in which it is used. "
It is therefore right that the clinics prepare for a rush, said Montgomery.
The Berlin Charité is also looking at the developments in the third wave of pandemics with great concern.
"If the number of seriously ill Covid patients exceeds the second wave, we come into a critical situation," said Martin Kreis, board member for health care in Germany's largest university hospital.
The number of new entrants to the Charité intensive care units has risen significantly in the past two weeks, said Kreis.
The age group between 30 and 60, who previously had little chance of vaccinations, is particularly affected.
"The trend is clear and it forces us to react," added the board member.
A reserve intensive care unit was fully reopened.
In addition, predictable operations that can be postponed have been canceled.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210410-99-148002 / 4