Germany facing fifth Covid-19 wave as Omicron cases surge
- Health minister says fifth Covid-19 wave can’t be stopped, backs mandatory vaccination
- Omicron cases in Germany doubling every two to four days, hospitals expected to become overloaded
Germany’s health minister Karl Lauterbach ruled out a Christmas lockdown on Sunday but warned a fifth Covid-19 wave could no longer be stopped and backed mandatory vaccination as the only way to stop the pandemic.
“There will not be a lockdown before Christmas here. But we will get a fifth wave – we have crossed a critical number of Omicron infections,” Lauterbach said, speaking on broadcaster ARD. “This wave can no longer be completely stopped.”
In another interview with BILD, Lauterbach added that he did not expect there to be a “hard lockdown” after the holidays either. The Netherlands, a neighbour, began a lockdown on Sunday at least until January 14 to stem an expected surge of the virus.
Germany banned unvaccinated people from entering non-essential establishments at the beginning of the month in an attempt to control rising cases amid the spread of the Omicron variant.
The government still needed to make clear to the populace what would and would not be allowed during the holiday season, Lauterbach said, without specifying what measures were under discussion.
The government’s scientific advisory panel said in a statement on Sunday that it was necessary to limit contact between people further, with data so far showing that boosters alone would not be enough to contain the spread of the virus.
Given how quickly and widely the Omicron variant disperses – with Omicron cases doubling every two to four days in Germany at present, slower than the UK’s growth rate but faster than the spread of other variants in Germany – a considerable overload of hospitals was to be expected, the statement said.