“Germany is in a critical situation”, according to the government

The Covid-19 pandemic is far from behind us, according to the German Minister of Health. “Germany is in a critical situation”said Karl Lauterbach, Friday, March 11, during a press conference. “I often read that the Omicron variant is a less virulent variant. This is only partially true”he warned, pointing out that 249 people had still died Thursday of Covid-19.

The minister notably warned against any relaxation. “The situation is objectively much worse than the general atmosphere”lamented Carl Lauterbach, noting that “the state of mind of the population and part of the political landscape is that we would have brought the pandemic under control”. “We cannot be satisfied with a situation where 200 to 250 people die every day”with the risk that the balance sheet will worsen further in the coming weeks, he said.

Germany, which plans to ease a number of restrictions from March 20, recorded more than 250,000 new Covid-19 cases on Friday and the seven-day incidence rate tops 1,400. “The number of cases and the incidence are increasing again (…). In many districts, the incidence is still above 2,000 or even 2,500,” added Lothar Wieler, director of the Robert Koch health monitoring institute.

The situation is deteriorating in particular because of the spread of the particularly contagious sub-variant BA.2, which currently accounts for around 38% of new infections in Germany, underlined Lothar Wieler. Despite the current restrictions and the wearing of the mandatory mask, “without a general compulsory vaccination, we will not be able to control the pandemic in the fall”underlined Karl Lauterbach.