The temperatures are still summery, but many Germans are already worried about autumn and winter. Many are already expecting renewed strict corona measures – and also fear a double burden due to the high number of infections and the simultaneous gas crisis.
According to a representative survey by the opinion research institute INSA, 71 percent of people in Germany assume that there will be restrictions on public life in autumn and winter. Of these 71 percent, 63 percent each expect cancellations of major events and the closure of saunas, 61 percent expect sports facilities (e.g. swimming pools) to be closed and 49 percent expect cultural institutions to be closed. This was the result of a survey commissioned by “Bild am Sonntag” among 1,200 respondents.
However, leading German scientists are opposed to the planned corona rules and the associated possible mask requirement for people whose last vaccination was more than three months ago. “Mr. Lauterbach says goodbye to science,” said Andreas Radbruch, Vice President of the European Federation of Immunological Societies.
Always continuing to vaccinate with the same vaccine does not help at all against the virulent infection situation. This did not prevent infections, says Radbruch. “As the immune system has braced itself against serious illness, it is no longer focused on preventing infection.”
Radbruch is supported by Carsten Watzl, Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology. Watzl told the “Bild am Sonntag”: “We must not give the impression that everyone should be vaccinated every three months.” Epidemiologist Alexander Kekulé also warned against further unnecessary vaccinations. Anyone who does not belong to the high-risk group “should better wait for the vaccines adapted to Omicron”.
But a possible new corona wave is not the only risk in the cold season: In view of the threatening double burden of possible corona measures and a gas emergency in autumn and winter, important sectors are demanding new support from politicians. “The German trade fairs are facing a fateful winter,” said Jörn Holtmeier, Managing Director of the trade fair association AUMA, of “Bild am Sonntag”. “If the wrong course is set in corona and energy policy, Germany will lose its position as the most important trade fair country in the world.”
So far, the corona-related measures have already resulted in damage of 55 billion euros in the trade fair industry, Holtmeier continued. “We expect that further damage will be prevented from us and that the Federal Network Agency will continuously supply us with the energy that we need.” The AUMA Managing Director expressed clear criticism of the planned revision of the Infection Protection Act. Because while France, Spain and Italy are back to normal at trade fairs, the federal government is again talking about possible upper limits for people at events in the new Infection Protection Act. “Instead of planning certainty, we get maximum uncertainty. The federal government has to do some follow-up work here,” said Holtmeier.
The general manager of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga), Ingrid Hartges, appealed to the federal government to avert an emergency in autumn and winter. “We expect that everything will be done to ensure energy security in winter and to curb the explosion in electricity and gas costs,” said Hartges. The federal government must finally present concrete plans for a possible emergency. “It must regulate how companies whose gas is reduced or even switched off are compensated quickly and unbureaucratically.”
The cinema association HDF sees a renewed decline in viewers in winter due to the combination of corona and gas-saving measures. “Without new bridging aids, many of the more than 1,000 cinemas in Germany simply cannot manage this,” said HDF chairwoman Christine Berg. In an industry-internal survey, 80 percent of the cinemas indicated that they heat with gas, and half have already taken energy-saving measures. Not enough, according to Berg. “We urgently need funding to raise investments of 375 million euros.”
