The number of infections is higher than expected, the deaths are increasing, no federal state is below the hotspot threshold – a nationwide withdrawal of the easing over Christmas and tightening of measures to contain the corona epidemic is getting closer and closer.
And with it a debate as to whether the interventions decided by the federal and state governments at the end of October and in November were too weak. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) now wants to quickly consult with the Prime Minister whether tougher precautions should be taken before Christmas.
“It will be a very difficult situation,” said Merkel on Monday in the Union parliamentary group. With the measures adopted and the principle of hope, “we won’t get through the winter”.
This could overturn the relaxed holiday rule – private meetings of up to ten people over the age of 14 until January 1st at the latest – nationwide. In Berlin, the Senate had already stipulated that the prior and subsequent restriction to five people from two households would also apply over the holidays.
Will there be an early federal-state round?
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) said he noticed “that many are joining the Berlin path”. As head of the Prime Minister’s Conference, he too now wants to sound out whether an early federal-state round will be agreed.
However, Müller also pointed out that the current resolution situation in places and regions with a very high number of cases already enables drastic measures. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) pleaded for a speedy meeting.
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In North Rhine-Westphalia, opposition leader Thomas Kutschaty (SPD) called for an alignment with Bavaria’s harder line. The German Hospital Society demanded that the Christmas easing be withdrawn, at least in places with a very high incidence.
In view of the development, the Chancellery has recently seen more and more confirmation. “The federal government has been saying all along: We want to do more,” stressed Chancellor Helge Braun (CDU).
Press new infections below the critical value
If contacts were strictly limited, as in France and Belgium, the goal is to push the number of new infections back below the critical value of 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days, “within three weeks,” said Braun.
It is currently 156 cases nationwide. That would mean that the current partial lockdown in the economy would be expanded, that there would be more public restrictions, including curfews, and that stricter measures would also be taken in schools. Braun called distance teaching and an extension of the holidays if this was not used for travel.
The Standing Vaccination Commission recommends that after vaccines have been approved, three population groups should be given priority: residents of nursing homes, people over 80 and health care workers who are particularly at risk. The latter are mainly employees in emergency rooms and staff who are in close contact with the particularly vulnerable groups. In total, around 8.6 million people fall into the three categories for this primary vaccination.
