The essentials in brief:
The entire press conference to read verbatim.
2:36 p.m .: The press conference is over.
2.35 p.m .: “We assume that the facility-related vaccination requirement is legal,” Lauterbach answered a journalist’s request. “We introduced them.” So there are no further questions.
2:31 p.m .: “The vaccines are currently anticipated as single doses,” says Lauterbach. The reason: Most of them have usually either had a vaccination or an infection. When asked, he also explains: “All vaccines are procured in Europe.”
2.30 p.m .: From autumn there will be three different vaccines: against the Wuhan variant, the adapted omicron variant and a bivalent vaccine (against both). According to Lauterbach, which one is then used can either be decided individually or depending on which variant prevails.
2:29 p.m .: Is there an adjustment to the Infection Protection Act? He welcomes that, says Lauterbach. But first I want to discuss the details internally.
2:27 p.m .: Demand for vaccine, which may now expire. “The vaccine that expires was not ordered in our legislative period,” says Lauterbach. At the same time, however, he explains the decisions of his predecessor Jens Spahn (CDU): “That was correct at the time.” And: It was “founded in the matter. If there are new variants, a new vaccine is needed and the old one expires.”
2:26 p.m .: Journalists present can ask questions.
2:24 p.m .: “The financial situation of the WHO is not optimal, but could be significantly improved,” says Lauterbach when asked by a journalist. As Germany you have “participated heavily”.
2:20 p.m .: The G7 health ministers will advise on Thursday and Friday. Topics according to Lauterbach: global, stronger and better coordinated pandemic monitoring and control (“Pact for Pandemic Readyness). “Due to climate change and rising temperatures, pandemics and other diseases will occur more frequently,” warns Lauterbach. This is also being discussed. Third point: “Prevention of antibiotic residence.”
2:18 p.m .: The vaccination centers should continue to run – 100 million euros per month are provided for this, according to Lauterbach.
2:17 p.m .: Biontech has an adapted Omicron vaccine. Another bivalent vaccine is being produced by Moderna. “830 million euros will be made available for this.” Lauterbach emphasizes: “Anyone who wants will receive a 4th dose.”
2:16 p.m .: Germany will order another vaccine – “despite the current surplus”, Lauterbach begins. And warns: “The pandemic is not over yet.” It is currently not possible to predict which variants you will be confronted with in autumn.
2:15 p.m.: The press conference begins.
1:01 p.m .: Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to present a concept for combating Corona in the fall today. He told Bayerischer Rundfunk in an interview broadcast on Wednesday: “In a few days, in a short time, I will present a plan that I have also coordinated very closely with the Federal Chancellery on how to manage the pandemic in the fall.”
For example, purchases of adapted vaccines are being prepared, he explained. Vaccination centers would be kept open so they could be used immediately. In addition, a vaccination campaign with creative approaches is being prepared. And the reporting of corona patients in hospitals to the Robert Koch Institute should be accelerated. Sick people should also get medication quickly.
On Monday, the health ministers of the federal states had pushed for timely preparations for a new corona wave in Germany from autumn. For example, a “master plan” coordinated with the federal states and an adjustment to the Infection Protection Act were required. In a resolution passed unanimously by the federal states, the federal government was asked to initiate the legislative process as soon as possible.
The recently amended Infection Protection Act runs until September 23rd. General mask requirements for events or when shopping as well as 2G and 3G regulations have therefore been eliminated since the beginning of April. For the time being, “basic protection” applies – for example with mask requirements in buses, trains, clinics, practices and nursing homes. Irrespective of state requirements, however, there are also further protection rules with mask requirements in many places, for example in cultural institutions.
11.03 a.m .: Hamburg has already had to dispose of 100,000 vaccine doses this year because the expiration date has passed. This was announced by NDR 90.3. According to this, 70,000 doses of vaccine from the manufacturer Moderna in particular went into the garbage. In addition, 15,000 doses of vaccine from Biontech for children and about 15,000 doses from Johnson
According to the social authority, the demand for vaccinations in the first quarter of 2022 was not as high as assumed. One reason for this is that more people were infected in the omicron wave than before and that infected and newly recovered people cannot be vaccinated for the time being. In the current year, the city-state will probably have to throw away 90,000 vaccine doses that expire in summer and autumn.
Wednesday, May 18th, 2022, 5:17 a.m .: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the nationwide seven-day incidence on Wednesday morning as 407.4. The day before, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 437.6 (previous week: 507.1; previous month: 808.8). 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 – due to overworked health authorities and because not all infected people have a PCR test done.
The health authorities in Germany recently reported 72,051 new corona infections (previous week: 97,010 registered infections) and 174 deaths (previous week: 231) to the RKI within one day.
Tuesday, May 17th, 2022, 12.30 p.m .: The RKI reports 86,252 new infections for Tuesday. The 7-day incidence is therefore 437.6. 215 other deaths were related to Covid-19.
According to North Korea, it is stepping up its measures against the epidemic spread of fever cases and for their treatment. Five days after a coronavirus outbreak was first confirmed in the country, state media reported on Tuesday that the military had dispatched soldiers to all pharmacies in Pyongyang and started “distributing medicines under a 24-hour service system.” The deployment of the troops was therefore limited to the capital with its almost three million inhabitants. According to reports, almost 270,000 “fever cases” (as the official language used) were registered on Monday. The number of fever-related deaths rose by six to 56.
It remained unclear how many of the deaths and almost 1.5 million fever patients reported to date are actually due to an illness caused by the corona virus. Experts assume that the closed country lacks the capacity to carry out mass tests.
4:54 p.m .: The health ministers of the federal states are urging timely preparations for a new corona wave in Germany from autumn. “The corona pandemic is not over yet. We must not be fooled by the currently declining incidences,” said Petra Grimm-Benne, Chairwoman of the Conference of Health Ministers from Saxony-Anhalt, after a video call with Federal Minister Karl Lauterbach (both SPD) on Monday. The federal government should therefore quickly draw up a “master plan” and coordinate it with the federal states. This should also include an adjustment of the Infection Protection Act.
Lauterbach expressly welcomed the decision. “The countries must be able to react to a possible flare-up of the pandemic,” said the SPD politician to the German Press Agency. To do this, they would need more instruments than the current law provides. “We have to be prepared for the cold season. A clear legal framework is part of it,” said Lauterbach. He had already announced a pandemic concept for the fall.
In a resolution passed unanimously by the federal states, the federal government is asked to initiate the legislative process as soon as possible. From autumn, for example, a mask requirement indoors could be reacted to. In addition, there should be obligations to submit vaccination, convalescence or test certificates with corresponding access restrictions for risky areas and facilities – i.e. regulations such as 2G or 3G. According to the information, binding infection protection concepts are also mentioned.
The recently amended Infection Protection Act runs until September 23rd. General mask requirements for events or when shopping as well as 2G and 3G regulations have therefore been eliminated since the beginning of April. For the time being, “basic protection” applies – for example with mask requirements in buses, trains, clinics, practices and nursing homes. Irrespective of state requirements, however, there are also further protection rules with mask requirements in many places, for example in cultural institutions.
Lauterbach had warned at the weekend of a return of the delta variant of the corona virus, which leads to more severe courses than the current Omicron variant. Saxony-Anhalt’s department head Grimm-Benne also explained: “With a view to autumn and winter, we have to expect new virus variants to appear.”
10.30 a.m .: In North Korea there is apparently growing concern about the increasing number of corona cases. The country reported 15 more deaths from “fever” on Sunday. According to the state news agency KCNA, the number of deaths rose to a total of 42 – with 820,620 cases of illness and at least 324,550 with medical treatment.
North Korea only recently officially reported its first corona cases. Leader Kim Jong Un said the outbreak had caused “major unrest” in the country. A “total lockdown” has been ordered for all provinces and cities, according to KCNA. Despite drastic measures, North Korea reports high numbers of new cases in the unvaccinated population every day.
North Korea announced on Thursday that the highly contagious omicron variant had been discovered in the capital Pyongyang. The already largely isolated communist North Korea sealed off its borders in early 2020 to protect itself from the pandemic. According to experts, the country has one of the worst health systems in the world.
4.43 p.m .: In order to compensate for the disadvantages caused by the pandemic, such as the loss of lessons, alternating lessons and quarantine periods, most federal states grant their students relief in the current Abitur exams. This was the result of a survey by the editorial network Germany (RND/Saturday) among all German ministries of culture.
Accordingly, the students in most federal states were given more time to take the exams. In the majority of countries, a corona-related 30-minute extension of the exam duration was granted.
Only Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony decided differently: According to the Ministry of Education, students in Thuringia are given 45 minutes more time for the mathematics exam, and 30 minutes in other subjects as well. In Rhineland-Palatinate, on the other hand, there is only an additional five minutes for the preparation time for the oral exams. Lower Saxony does not grant any extended examination times.
8:07 a.m .: Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has warned of the return of the Delta variant of the corona virus and announced the procurement of different vaccines. “The pandemic is not over yet. An omicron wave in autumn is likely. But even the more dangerous Delta variant could come back,” said Lauterbach of the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post” (Saturday edition), referring to a corresponding study from Israel.
Germany must adapt to both scenarios, he said. “We need vaccines against both variants. That will be very expensive. But another missed autumn would be unaffordable for the economy.” The federal government expects a vaccine against the omicron variant in September.
Lauterbach made serious allegations against the Union in this regard. “Compulsory vaccination would have made everything easier. The Union is to blame if the vaccine gap leads to avoidable deaths and restrictions,” he said. “Without their party tactical blockade, vaccination would have been compulsory.”
The German Association of Towns and Municipalities called on the federal and state governments to make preparations for a new corona wave. The vaccination options must be maintained, said managing director Gerd Landsberg to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday editions).
Saturday, May 14, 6:22 a.m .: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the nationwide seven-day incidence on Saturday morning as 477.0. This is evident from numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 5 a.m. The day before, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 485.7 (previous week: 544.0; previous month: 1015.7).
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 – due to overworked health authorities and because not all infected people have a PCR test done. Only these 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 61,859 new corona infections (previous week: 72,252 registered infections) and 144 deaths (previous week: 184) 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 25,723,697 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.
Older reports on Corona can be found on the following pages.
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