Despite the continuing trend of declining numbers of cases and hospital admissions, the onslaught of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus is pushing the German government towards imposing new restrictions, a "lockdown light", writes the Südwest Presse, in both the public and private sectors.
The measures are expected to be specified at a conference later today, Tuesday, between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the state premiers.
At the same time, the Robert Koch Institute has raised the alarm, upgrading the risk level for the population to "very high" - especially for the unvaccinated.
According to a draft of the decision to be taken today by the federal and state governments and made available to the RND network, as of 28 December up to a maximum of 10 people, vaccinated or not, will be allowed to meet privately - either indoors or outdoors - as of 28 December. Children under 14 years of age are not counted. Large outdoor New Year's Eve parties are expected to be cancelled, with the Berlin government having already announced this decision for events traditionally held at the Brandenburg Gate. Also, major nightclubs will remain closed, while sports and cultural venues will operate with a very limited number of spectators, at 30-50% of capacity, and only for those who have been vaccinated or treated and wearing a mask, while organisers will be able to require a negative diagnostic test.
Bundesliga football matches and other similar sporting fixtures will again be held without fans. It is rather telling that an earlier draft decision only spoke of limiting the number of spectators, not excluding them.
The state's financial support for businesses affected by the measures will be extended to cover the new needs. The states will be able to adjust the aid according to the specific needs of their region.
In addition, as Bild revealed yesterday, the Chancellor's Office has already instructed the Ministry of Defence and the federal and state ministries of the Interior, Economy and Health to draw up emergency operating plans in case, due to the Omicron dispersal, a large number of employees are quarantined.
The Robert Koch Institute, referring to the Omicron variant, last night upgraded the risk level for the general population to "very high," especially for those who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. Similarly, the risk is considered "high" for those who have had two vaccines or become ill, and is rated "moderate" for those who have received a booster dose. The Institute also warns of a large increase in the number of cases and a rapid overload of the health system. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach reiterated yesterday that a general lockdown before Christmas is out of the question, but left open the possibility of imposing wider restrictions on the unvaccinated from January, excluding school and catering closures. Decisions will depend on how the situation develops in the coming weeks.
On the other hand, the Green Party's health spokesman Janos Damen told Handelsblatt that the tools available to the states are not sufficient to deal with Omicron and suggested suspending the opening of restaurants and clubs. Furthermore, he stressed that "a possible scenario would be a well-planned lockdown in early January."
From the third government partner, the Liberals (FDP), parliamentary group leader Christian Durr told ZDF that "we should look at reasonable contact restrictions if they are necessary, but at this stage a lockdown is not necessary".
In contrast, the new General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) Lars Klingbail made it clear that for January "there are no red lines" if the new variant continues to spread and measures prove insufficient.
462 deaths due to COVID-19Confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany increased by 23,428 in the past 24 hours to 6,833,050, figures released today (Tuesday) by the Robert Koch Institute, the country's epidemiological surveillance body, show.
The deaths of 462 patients due to complications of COVID-19 increased the death toll of the new coronavirus pandemic in the country to 108,814 dead so far, according to the same source.
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