5:23 a.m .: Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wants access to the free corona citizen tests to be significantly restricted. Only patients with symptoms should be eligible, as well as other selected groups of people such as small children and pregnant women. This emerges from the ministry’s “Corona Autumn Strategy”, which is available to the German Press Agency. The editorial network Germany (RND) had previously reported on it. The free offer to all citizens is only fixed until the end of June.
The paper mentions other groups and occasions for free citizen tests:
Most recently, pressure on the federal government had grown from the federal states to quickly create a legal basis for further protective requirements in the event of a new corona wave in autumn. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia called for an amendment to the Infection Protection Act to be presented before the summer break before the two-day consultation of the health ministers this Wednesday. The number of infections has recently risen again.
Wednesday, June 23, 2022: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) put the nationwide seven-day incidence on Wednesday morning at 488.7. This emerges from figures that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 3:13 a.m.
The day before, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 458.5 (previous week: 472.4; previous month: 322.4). However, the incidence does not provide a complete picture of the infection situation. Experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI – mainly because by far not all infected people have a PCR test done. Only positive PCR tests count in the statistics. In addition, late registrations or transmission problems can lead to a distortion of individual daily values.
The health authorities in Germany recently reported 119,232 new corona infections (previous week: 92,344) and 104 deaths (previous week: 112) to the RKI within one day. Here, too, comparisons of the data are only possible to a limited extent due to the test behavior, late registrations or transmission problems. In general, the number of registered new infections and deaths varies significantly from weekday to weekday, as more and more federal states do not transmit to the RKI, especially at weekends, and report their cases later in the week.
The RKI has counted 27,454,225 proven infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections go undetected.
2.41 p.m .: With regard to the future development of the corona pandemic, according to infection immunologist Leif Erik Sander, constant revaccinations are not expedient. True, the new vaccines, adapted to the omicron variant BA.1, would bring their advantages. However, they are not a “game changer”, he explained in the “NDR Info” podcast Corona virus update.
On the other hand, vaccines that can also be used as nasal sprays promise new success. Researchers from the Charité, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the Free University of Berlin are currently investigating such a live vaccine in animal experiments. The genome of the coronavirus is modified in such a way that it can no longer cause disease and is inhibited in its reproduction. However, it can cause infection and trigger a strong immune response.
So far, this research, which has already achieved good results, is still in a development phase. “But it is a promising approach that the application of a vaccine via the respiratory tract can lead to very good protection not only against a serious course of the disease, but also against infection,” said Sander. On the one hand, the simple handling and the lower use of vaccine per dose would convince with the nasal sprays.
Tuesday, June 21, 4:41 a.m .: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia are urging the federal government to quickly create the legal requirements for stricter protective measures in view of an impending corona wave in autumn. The traffic light must present an amendment to the Infection Protection Act before the summer break, according to a draft decision by the four countries for the conference of health ministers this week. This is necessary in order to be able to react to an increase in infections in autumn with suitable countermeasures. “These include, in particular, the obligation to wear masks indoors, 3G/2G access rules, test obligations, upper limits for people and contact restrictions,” says the proposal from the four countries, which is available to the German Press Agency.
The three Union-led states and the green-black government of Baden-Württemberg also insist that they be included in the deliberations on the law. The federal government must quickly create legal, financial and organizational planning security. Among other things, the health ministers of the four countries are calling for the Corona Test Ordinance to be “appropriately” extended beyond the end of June. “There is still a need for free and unbureaucratic test options, in particular to ensure protection in the vicinity of facilities for vulnerable people and groups.”
Before the ministerial conference in Magdeburg on Wednesday, the federal states are also pushing to clarify quickly whether there should be a general recommendation for a fourth vaccination. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia are also calling on the federal government to prepare the hospitals for the expected next wave. For example, there must be financial incentives to keep staff and recruit new ones.
10.05 a.m .: The virologist Klaus Stöhr goes to court with Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. Regarding Lauterbach’s repeated statement that the corona vaccination was free of side effects, Stöhr told the “Bild” newspaper: “A doctor who says something like that should not have a license to practice medicine.” And further: “Every drug and every vaccine has side effects .”
Stöhr called Lauterbach a “loose cannon” – someone who cannot be controlled. “For someone who communicates as a federal minister, I would hope for more down-to-earthness, a sense of responsibility, strategy, and long-term thinking.”
Monday, June 20, 8:29 a.m .: On Saturday evening (June 18), federal police officers arrested a 67-year-old as part of border controls on the occasion of the G7 summit at the Mittenwald border crossing. The officials discovered blank vaccination cards, vaccine batch numbers and vaccination card stickers in the German’s car. The Federal Police Inspectorate Rosenheim has started the investigation.
At around 9:30 p.m., federal police officers checked the 67-year-old German in a vehicle with British registration at the Mittenwald border crossing. During the personal check, the officials found that there was a search request from the Munich II public prosecutor’s office against the man to determine his whereabouts because of fraud.
During the subsequent search of the car, the police found the following, among other things:
– 17 blank vaccination books, – 50 vaccine batch numbers, – vaccination card stickers, – a stamp for vaccines and – certificates for negative corona test results.
During the search, the 63-year-old tried to throw away another vaccination card. Officers arrested the man and confiscated the items. The German admitted to having copied batch numbers for acquaintances and forging his own vaccination card.
The Federal Police Inspectorate in Rosenheim is investigating falsification of documents, preparation for the production of incorrect vaccination cards, the unauthorized issuing of health certificates and the issuing of incorrect health certificates. The Munich II public prosecutor released the man. After the police measures were completed, the 63-year-old was able to continue his journey.
Sunday, June 19, 10:30 a.m .: Against the background of the increasing number of corona infections, Schleswig-Holstein’s Health Minister Heiner Garg (FDP) recommends the fourth vaccination for everyone. The prick should therefore be carried out if the third booster vaccination was already a few months ago. “I think that’s perfectly reasonable. I wouldn’t necessarily wait after the back and forth with the virus variant-adapted vaccine, which to this day we don’t know exactly when it’s coming,” Garg told radio station R.SH. “Especially when I plan to go on vacation. I believe that a fourth vaccination can make a lot of sense here,” said the minister.
5:12 a.m .: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the nationwide seven-day incidence on Saturday morning as 445.1. The day before, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week was 427.8 (previous week: 348.9; previous month: 407.4) because some federal states had not transmitted any figures to the RKI on Corpus Christi (Thursday).
The health authorities in Germany recently reported 80,264 new corona infections (previous week: 65,337) and 58 deaths (previous week: 77) to the RKI within one day. Here, too, comparisons of the data are only possible to a limited extent due to the test behavior, late registrations or transmission problems.
Saturday, June 18, 3:03 a.m .: Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann has expressed skepticism about reintroducing the mask requirement if the corona infections rise sharply again. Apparently, he does not consider their benefit to be scientifically proven. “If the state wants to make masks mandatory, for example indoors, it has to be evidence-based and proportionate. We will discuss whether this is the case when all the reports are available,” said the FDP politician to the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”.
“Evidence-based”, as Buschmann put it, means according to Duden: on the basis of empirically compiled and evaluated scientific knowledge. Buschmann said that he himself wears a mask in the supermarket, but voluntarily. The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, explained in the newspapers the Funke media group that the “scientific evidence on the sense of compulsory masks and vaccination” is “overwhelming”.
The Council of Experts, whose report Buschmann wants to wait for, is to present its opinion on June 30th on the review of the previous corona protection measures. According to the will of the FDP, future measures should then be discussed over the summer. The Infection Protection Act is then to be amended after the end of the Bundestag break shortly before it expires on September 23
8.30 a.m .: The federal government is considering introducing a general mask requirement from October this year until Easter. This could be part of the amendment to the Infection Protection Act, reports the “Welt am Sonntag”. This means that when wearing a mask, the so-called “O-to-O rule” would apply – a term that is particularly familiar to drivers because of their winter tires.
According to the newspaper, the initiative to introduce the “O-to-O rule” came directly from the Chancellery. It can also be attributed to discussions with the members of the Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council. The obligation to wear masks indoors is one of the restrictions that have reduced the incidence of infection, according to the report on the federal government’s talks with the experts.
Should the rule come, a mask requirement would also apply again in retail and gastronomy – in addition to the previous ones, for example in public transport or in hospitals.
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