The German Hospital Society (DKG) has asked the federal government to extend the rescue package for hospitals beyond March 20th.
"The federal government must now immediately extend the rescue package measures that are limited to March 19," said DKG CEO Gerald Gass to the editorial network Germany.
"We have always said that the pandemic will keep us busy throughout the year." The pandemic was not over on March 19, "even if the terrible war in Ukraine pushed the topic out of the public eye".
Gass supported the easing plan of the federal and state governments despite increasing corona incidences.
"We will not be threatened with overload in the coming weeks, so moderate relaxation will not have a negative impact on hospitals," he added.
"Despite the openings that have been decided, we do not expect a threatening increase in the number of patients in the coming weeks."
The head of the association named, among other things, children and young people for whom there should be relaxation.
"However, the omicron subvariant remains an uncertainty factor, which is now causing the number of patients who have tested positive for corona to rise again," said Gass.
"If the trend is confirmed, the numbers in the normal and intensive care units could also increase again with a delay of two to three weeks." However, the DKG still does not expect stress scenarios like in the years 2020 and 2021.