The corona numbers are increasing rapidly again. Among other things, this brings the latches in need, even if there are less severe courses than before. They want countries to act before it's too late. But with the exception of Berlin and Brandenburg, the obligation to wear a mask indoors is currently not an issue.
Because of the increasingly tense corona situation in hospitals, the German Hospital Society is calling on the affected federal states to quickly return to the obligation to wear masks indoors. "Where the number of infections is particularly high, the state governments are now required to take the appropriate steps from the package of measures of the new Infection Protection Act," said Chairman Gerald Gaß of the "Passauer Neue Presse".
"If not now, then when is the time, for example, to impose a mask requirement indoors to slow down the rate of infection?" The situation in the clinics is very tense. "In the meantime, one can say that normal operations are no longer possible in most hospitals," reported Gass. Operations and treatments that can be planned would be postponed again, beds would be closed due to a lack of staff, and hospitals would have to temporarily withdraw from emergency care. "These are things that are probably already happening in half of the clinics. And the situation will probably get even worse in the coming weeks."
Kassenärzte boss Andreas Gassen, on the other hand, reiterated his long-standing skepticism about a mask requirement. In view of the high immunization rate, the situation is completely different than in the past two years. "That's why I would rely much more on people's personal responsibility," he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. He also considers unprovoked tests to be unnecessary.
A nationwide mask requirement only exists in long-distance trains and buses, clinics, medical practices and care facilities. In addition, countries can introduce them indoors if needed. Berlin and Brandenburg are already thinking about it, but this is not currently an issue in the other countries, according to a survey by the editorial network Germany.
Doctors President Klaus Reinhardt called for more education in the fight against Long Covid. "Many people infected with corona develop such a clinical picture after surviving the infection, albeit with different degrees of progression," said the President of the German Medical Association of the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post". "It would be desirable if the federal government's current vaccination campaign were flanked by an information campaign on post-Covid syndrome and its treatment options."
The number of infections has risen sharply recently. The Robert Koch Institute put the seven-day incidence of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants at 760 on Friday. Experts assume that it is actually much higher because many infected people no longer do a PCR test and are therefore not recorded. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach estimates the total number to be three to four times higher. However, because many people are vaccinated or have already been infected, the courses are significantly less severe than before.
