German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called for an understanding of a continuation of the severe lockdown conditions in Germany, saying that these were necessary to prevent a “significant deterioration” of the current situation, despite a delay in the situation. number of infections.
The death toll in Germany rose to more than 51,000 on Thursday, after several weeks with an average of 1,000 deaths a day.
Spahn told a press conference, flanked by the head of the government’s disease control agency, the country’s chief coronavirus virologist and the chief of intensive care medicine, that the measures should remain in effect until at least “the end of February or. March. ”He cited the dangers of mutations first discovered in England, South Africa and Brazil as a factor behind the decision.
Germany reported nearly 18,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, about 4,000 fewer than a week ago.
Spahn said he could understand the bewilderment of many Germans as to why the measures had expanded and intensified in recent days, despite a drop in numbers. The public discontent was reflected in a wave of emails, phone calls and letters he had received, he said.
“The figures for the past few days are encouraging. They are moving in the right direction. The infection rate is decreasing. We are seeing the first relief in the intensive care units … but it is still a significant burden with loads of Covid-19 patients in the intensive care units and in the hospital.
“But the numbers are still too high, and what we need is to collectively use the intensified measures, despite the many hardships they bring, to keep suppressing the numbers … so that this virus is manageable” , he said.
For months, the coronavirus in Germany was too high to allow for contact tracking, which Spahn said was a critical tool in getting the disease under control.
With nearly 5,000 beds in the intensive care unit currently occupied by Covid-19 patients, Spahn insisted it was imperative to reduce the number of hospital admissions to avoid overwhelming the health system.
“If we look at other countries in Europe, we can see how quickly the situation is rekindling,” he said, later referring specifically to Great Britain and Portugal.
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Faced with renewed criticism over the slow progress of the German vaccine program compared to other countries such as Britain, Spahn said he was confident it would pick up quickly once production capacity increased – with a new plant for the BioNTech. company expected to be completed next month. The AstraZeneca vaccine will also be available in Germany in the coming days.
So far, 1.5 million people had received the shot, Spahn said. He said that 60% of nursing home residents had received a first injection so far and that a total of 80% had offered and accepted the offer. The admission rate was also currently higher than expected among care providers, about 80% of whom had used the supply so far.
Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor, said on Thursday that all citizens could expect the shot to be offered by Sept. 21.
Spahn said there was no plan to delay access to second jabs. He said the German government would follow the scientific advice that the highest protection would be afforded if the difference between the first and second doses were between three and six weeks.
Focusing initially on the most vulnerable, he said he didn’t want to risk a situation where a mutation could escape, leaving older people particularly exposed to infections.
“The clear recommendation from our vaccine committee was and remains that the time difference between the first and second dose should be between three and a maximum of six weeks … Scientists have explained to us that the risk of waiting may mean that there is insufficient protection against more virulent mutations . With this in mind, we stick to the original timetable. “