Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, called for understanding of a continuation of the harsh blocking conditions in Germany, saying that they were necessary to prevent a “considerable worsening” of the current situation, despite a slowdown in the rate of infections.
The death toll in Germany rose to more than 51,000 on Thursday, having increased by an average of 1,000 deaths a day for several weeks.
Spahn said at a press conference, flanked by the head of the government’s disease control agency, the country’s leading coronavirus virologist and chief of intensive care, that the measures should remain in effect until at least “the end of February or early March. ”. He cited the dangers of mutations first detected in England, South Africa and Brazil as a factor behind the decision.
Germany reported almost 18,000 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, approximately 4,000 less than a week ago.
Spahn said he could understand the perplexity of many Germans as to why the measures have been extended and intensified in recent days, despite the drop in numbers. Public discontent was reflected in a flood of emails, phone calls and letters he received, he said.
“The figures for the past few days are encouraging. They are going in the right direction. The infection rate is decreasing. We are seeing the first relief in the intensive care wards … but it is still a considerable burden for many patients with Covid-19 in the intensive care wards and in the hospital.
“But the numbers are still very high and what we need is to use intensified measures collectively, despite the many difficulties they bring, to continue to suppress the numbers … so that this virus is controllable,” he said.
For months, the rate of coronavirus in Germany has been too high to allow contact tracking, which Spahn said was a crucial tool in being able to control the disease.
With nearly 5,000 beds in intensive care units currently occupied with Covid-19 patients, Spahn insisted that it was imperative to reduce the number of hospitalizations to prevent the health system from becoming overloaded.
“If we look at other countries in Europe, we can see how quickly the situation is on fire again,” he said, referring later specifically to Britain and Portugal.
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Facing further criticism of the slow progress of Germany’s vaccine program compared to other countries like Britain, Spahn said he was confident he would recover quickly when production capacities increased – with a new plant for the planned BioNTech company to be completed next month. The AstraZeneca vaccine is also expected to be available in Germany in the coming days.
So far, 1.5 million people have received the jab, Spahn said. He said that 60% of nursing home residents have received their first chance so far and, in total, 80% have received and accepted the offer. The adherence rate was also currently higher than expected among health professionals, about 80% of whom had already accepted the offer.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said on Thursday that all citizens could wait for the jab to be offered until September 21.
Spahn said there are no plans to delay access to second jabs. He said the German government will follow scientific advice that the greatest protection will be provided if the interval between the first and second doses is three to six weeks.
Focusing initially on the most vulnerable, he said he did not want to risk a situation in which a mutation could escape, leaving the elderly particularly exposed to infection.
“The clear recommendation from our vaccine commission was and remains that the time interval between the first and the second dose should be between three and a maximum of six weeks … Scientists have explained to us that the risk of waiting can mean that there is no adequate protection against more virulent mutations. With that in mind, we are following the original time plan. “