A health worker cares for a Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit at Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday, January 12, 2021. Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Germany is facing severe blockade measures by the end of the month. March, if the authorities do not contain a rapidly spreading variant of coronavirus.
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LONDON – German health authorities are concerned about rising coronavirus infections in the country and say a nationwide blockade is needed to end the ongoing third wave.
Germany has been experiencing high rates of Covid infection since October last year, and despite an improvement in February, the number of new cases has risen since the end of March.
“Many citizens recognize the need to break this wave with additional measures and most are in favor of stricter rules. It needs a blockade to break the current wave,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn told a news conference on Friday. the press.
This third wave of coronavirus puts pressure on the country’s health system at a time when regional and federal governments are struggling with the right measures to take.
“The number of patients in intensive care is growing much too fast. Doctors and nurses have been under constant stress for months and are rightly sounding the alarm,” Spahn said.
“We need to break the third wave as soon as possible. That means reducing contacts and reducing mobility. This is the only way to prevent further growth.”
The country reported over 30,000 new Covid cases on Wednesday and about 26,000 on Thursday.
German officials were divided on the right approach to address the growing cases, while citizens became frustrated by the various arrangements between different regions.
But on Friday, reports emerged that Chancellor Angela Merkel was ready to impose measures at the national level and effectively take control of the regional leadership. Merkel has previously said that Germany needs a tougher and more uniform approach across the country.
Speaking to CNBC earlier this week, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said: “If we could take similar measures everywhere, this would help a lot and make it easier to understand.”
It is happening while the German health authorities are pushing for an increase in the number of vaccinations in the country, which has already begun to bear fruit. On Thursday, the daily number of inoculations approached 720,000 compared to about 317,000 a week ago, according to the Ministry of Health.
“I think we will reach a situation where, by the end of this month, there will be 4 to 5 million doses per week,” Scholz told CNBC.
Sputnik V
During a press conference on Friday, the health minister confirmed that the contractual negotiations for the purchase of the Russian developed Sputnik V vaccine are now taking place, according to Reuters. Spahn added that there is still a question mark as to whether these vaccines would be available in the coming months.
The European Medicines Agency began assessing Russian fire in early March and will decide whether to recommend its use in the 27 EU member states. Although the regulator uses an urgent method to verify the effectiveness of Sputnik V, it is not clear when it could obtain final approval.
German authorities have previously said they would consider using the Russian vaccine if the EMA concluded that the shot was effective in preventing the Covid-19 virus.