IIn Baden-Württemberg, the Corona warning level comes into force on Wednesday. The number of Covid 19 patients in intensive care units exceeded 250 on Tuesday for the second working day in a row, according to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health in Stuttgart. This means that stricter rules will apply again in the future, especially for those who have not been vaccinated.
The first critical mark had been reached and the situation in the hospitals was tense, said Health Minister Manne Lucha (Greens) on Tuesday. “We are currently experiencing a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We see that not only in the separately reported incidence values, but also in the intensive care units. ”There are almost exclusively non-vaccinated patients with a severe course, says Lucha. It is therefore clear that the restrictions must start with the non-vaccinated. “They are the drivers of the pandemic and are responsible for the burden on the health system,” said the Minister of Health.
Comprehensive testing requirements for the unvaccinated
For those who have not been vaccinated, the warning level means more extensive testing requirements and the return of contact restrictions. Those who have not been vaccinated or have not recovered will in future have to show a PCR test for numerous leisure activities in closed rooms, for example in restaurants, cinemas or swimming pools. A quick test is then no longer sufficient. So far, no test was necessary outdoors at museums, trade fairs or canteens. Here, too, 3G proof will be required in the future, but a quick test is usually sufficient outdoors.
In addition, the stricter rules again limit contact to one household and five other people. Vaccinated and genesis as well as people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons are exempt. Children and young people up to the age of 17 are not included.
Critical value already exceeded on Friday
The warning level of the Corona Ordinance comes into force when the number of corona patients reaches 250 on two working days in a row or the number of corona infected people per 100,000 inhabitants admitted to clinics within a week rises to a value of 8 or above for five consecutive business days. The weekend and public holidays do not interrupt the count.
The utilization of the intensive care beds required for the warning level was reached for the first time on Friday of last week at 259. Since the weekend and a public holiday followed, the warning level was not announced until Tuesday, despite the further increase in intensive care bed occupancy. For the stricter rules to expire again, the values must remain below the set threshold for five consecutive working days.
Saxony is also planning tightened measures
In view of the drastically increasing number of corona infections, the Saxon state government also wants to tighten protective measures and introduce the 2G rule for gastronomy, indoor events or major events. This is what the cornerstones of the new protection regulation provide for, which the cabinet discussed on Tuesday. Major events also include football matches. FFP-2 masks should be mandatory in local public transport. The mask requirement in class will not be lifted. And in Bavaria, too, the state cabinet wants to adopt stricter protective measures on Wednesday due to the drastically increased number of infections.
Not only at state level, but nationwide, politicians and health experts are now struggling for additional protection for the winter in view of the recently tense corona situation. The doctors in practice assured that they would be able to offer several million more booster vaccinations (“boosters”) by the end of the year – but initially for people at risk, including those aged 70 and over, in accordance with a recommendation from the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko). On the other hand, the acting Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) continues to push for vaccination reinforcements on a broader front for everyone over 60.
New federal-state conference next week?
The head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, said on Tuesday in Berlin that the practices could complete the task of a total of 15 million booster vaccinations by the end of December. However, this must take place in a “somewhat calmer and orderly atmosphere”. The Stiko recommendation is a reliable basis. Differing recommendations from non-medical sources confused many and sometimes “chaotic” practice processes, so that this tended to slow things down. A good two million people have received a “booster” so far.
There may also be another round of federal and state talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) in the coming week. The caretaker government had offered that. The chairman of the Prime Ministers’ Conference, Hendrik Wüst (CDU) from North Rhine-Westphalia, told the dpa that a meeting in the coming week would be appropriate. The increase in infection requires “vigilance and decisive action by everyone in the vaccination strategy”. However, other countries also gave skeptical signals about another meeting.
Nationwide, there is also more protection for nursing homes. Spahn is aiming for mandatory test concepts there in autumn and winter, which “regardless of the vaccination status provide for mandatory tests for the staff at least twice a week”, as the draft says. Visitors would also need to have a fresh negative test result, otherwise facilities would have to offer rapid testing. Countries could also provide visitor access only for those who have been vaccinated or recovered (2G). The chairman of the general practitioners’ association, Ulrich Weigeldt, told the “Wirtschaftswoche” that anyone who has not been vaccinated cannot and should not work in old people’s and nursing homes. The government has ruled out compulsory vaccination, but should think again about it.
