covid-19 in Germany Archives - Iran News Daily

German Health Minister Pleads with Federal States to Impose Further COVID Restrictions

mahla — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:57:52 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – German Health Minister Pleads with Federal States to Impose Further COVID Restrictions. German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Thursday pleaded with federal states to impose further coronavirus restrictions immediately rather than wait for the federal “emergency brake”.

The government has sought to introduce stricter nationwide restrictions to contain a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic amid calls from doctors to toughen the measures.

“Every day counts especially in this difficult situation,” Spahn told a weekly news conference, adding, “Vaccinating and testing alone are not enough to break the third wave.”

“We know from last autumn what happens when we don’t act quickly,” Spahn stated.

Germany on Thursday recorded 29,426 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the biggest daily increase since January 8, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases reported.

The number of new infections per 100,000 residents over seven days rose to 160.1, while the reported death toll rose by 293 on Thursday, according to the RKI.

“What is clear is that we must act now,” RKI President Lothar Wieler said, adding that the situation was worse than the second wave.

Wieler noted the situation in intensive care units was worsening, with most cases belonging to the 15- to 49-year-old age group.

The coronavirus variant that was first detected in Britain, known as B117, now accounts for 90% of recorded cases, Wieler continued.

While 17% of Germans have received at least a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, many people will still have to wait for months for vaccination, Wieler said.

Spahn renewed his promise to offer a vaccine to all adults in Germany by the summer and pushed back on achieving herd immunity.

“It will take until the summer, not at the beginning of July but in the summer, in the third quarter, until we have achieved group immunity,” Spahn stated.

Under Germany’s federal system, each state has had the power to apply measures as it saw fit, dpa reported.

But Cabinet members on Tuesday approved legal changes to grant the federal government more power to enforce coronavirus regulations nationwide.

The decision must now pass the Bundestag, although it is facing opposition.

Dubbed the “federal emergency brake”, the decision would legally require any state with a high incidence of COVID-19 cases to implement a set of rules laid out by the federal government.

Although the government, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), wants to fast-track a decision, the timeline remains unclear.

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No Plan for New Coronavirus Lockdown, Germany Says

reporter 1222 — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 11:42:24 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Germany will not need another national lockdown over the winter to keep the coronavirus under control despite rising infections, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday.

After initially keeping infections and deaths relatively low compared to its European neighbors, the number of new cases in Germany has accelerated in recent weeks, raising fears of a second wave.

Spahn said experts and politicians were learning more about the virus every day. While a blanket lockdown in March had been the right thing to do at the time to protect the weakest in society, it would not be needed again, he said, Reuters reported.

“We will certainly not need to do this nationwide,” Spahn said, adding that regional authorities could handle outbreaks.

“We can go into autumn and winter with confidence,” he told a news conference.

Spahn said there would be no need to reintroduce bans on visits to care homes. “And we can see that in shops we have things under control with social distancing and masks,” he said.

Stressing that people should continue to exercise caution, for example by washing hands and wearing masks, measures could now be better targeted.

“We are learning where the dangers are greatest, sadly when we socialize and celebrate together,” he said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel last week warned that the situation was likely to worsen over the winter. Keen to keep the economy going and schools open, she has agreed with regional leaders to ban major events until at least the end of the year and tighten rules for travelers returning from high-risk countries.

Virologist Christian Drosten, who advises the government, has said shortening the quarantine period to five days from two weeks might be realistic.

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German Health Minister Stresses Coronavirus Risk

reporter 1222 — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 10:13:08 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Wednesday stressed that the coronavirus remains a risk after the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday put two municipalities back into lockdown following an outbreak at a meatpacking plant.

Guetersloh and the neighboring town of Warendorf became the first areas in Germany to fall back under lockdown measures that had been gradually lifted since the end of April, Reuters reported.

“We’re seeing that if we make it too easy for this virus, it spreads very, very quickly again – we’re not only seeing that in Guetersloh – we’ve also seen it in Goettingen, in Leer, in Bremen and at churches and family celebrations,” Spahn told German broadcaster ARD.

“That’s why it’s important to keep making clear that although the numbers were low over many weeks, this virus is still there,” Spahn said.

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