Germany Hits Record 65,371 New COVID-19 Infections In the Last 24 Hours. Germany’s Disease Control Agency Says That Christmas Is Going To Be A Nightmare!
Source: Germany’s COVID-19 News Nov 18, 2021 3 years, 1 month, 6 days, 22 hours, 7 minutes ago
Germany’s COVID-19 News: Germany's disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, said Thursday that 65,371 newly confirmed cases had been reported in a single day, continuing the upward trend that experts have been warning about for weeks.
The head of the agency, Lothar Wieler, has warned that the country faces a "really terrible Christmas" unless steps are taken to counter the sharp rise in coronavirus infections.
Wieler told
Germany’s COVID-19 News media, "We are currently heading toward a serious emergency. We are going to have a really terrible Christmas if we don't take countermeasures now."
He said that Germany needs to increase its vaccination rates to significantly above 75%, from 67.7% at present. Some regions in Germany have vaccination rates as low as 57.6%.
Wieler also called for the closure of clubs and bars, an end to large-scale events and access to many parts of public life to be limited to those with vaccine or recovery certificates.
He warned that hospitals across Germany are struggling to find beds for COVID-19 patients and those with other illnesses.
It was reported that German lawmakers are debating measures Thursday that would replace the nationwide epidemic rules, which will expire at the end of the month.
Germany broke its own record again on Thursday as it registered 65,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours. This is the first time since the pandemic began that the number has been upward of 60,000 in a single day.
Wieler said he believes there were "twice or three times as many" cases a day than were actually being reported.
Wieler said during an online discussion with Michael Kretschmer, the state premier of Saxony, which is now the epicenter of the pandemic in Germany, “The under-reporting of the true numbers is increasing. We are in an emergency. Whoever refuses to see that is making a big mistake."
Predicting a grim forecast for the coming days, Wieler urged political leaders to take quick action to curb new infections.
Wieler also expressed disappointment with the pace of COVID policy. "It's simply no longer bearable that what I, and many other colleagues, have been saying for 21 months is perhaps still not being recognized."
The senior health official called for contact restrictions, closure of clubs and bars, and the introduction of "2G" rules nationwide referring to the shorthand in Germany for a rule that allows freedoms like access to restaurants and hotels only to those who are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID.
His words came as Chancellor Angela Merkel was preparing to meet with all 16 state premiers on Thursday to discuss implementing nationwide measures in an attempt to avoid the uneven restrictions that have been implemented by state and municipal governments throughout the country.
The country's state of emergency, which
has given the federal government tighter control over public health issues, is set to lapse on November 25. The likely future ruling coalition of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), environmentalist Green party, and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), had indicated that they would let it expire, despite pleas from state premiers not to do so.
Kretschmer said ahead of the meeting, "If we're really going to be successful in breaking this wave, we're not going to be able to do it by just addressing the unvaccinated group.”
The country’s vaccination rate has stagnated at under 70% in recent weeks, a relatively lower vaccine take-up compared to other parts of Western Europe.
Pleas have been growing louder for more individuals to get the jab and for the government to impose stringent restrictions on the unvaccinated to persuade them to receive the shots.
It was reported that Chancellor Merkel made a new plea on Wednesday for the unvaccinated to get the shots, saying "when enough individuals are vaccinated, that is the way out of the pandemic."
Many Germans are reluctant to receive the COVID-19 vaccines due to misinformation and also due to believe in fake homeopathic remedies and also fake therapeutics including some coming from India. Local German authorities are also investigating some of these remedies being peddled by Germans based on tip offs.
The recent COVID-19 surge has put hospitals in parts of Germany under immense strain.
Although the number of COVID patients in intensive care is increasing, hospitals are struggling to cope because of not only rising demand but also a shortage of trained personnel.
It was reported that long hours, low pay and stress during the pandemic have served to put people off a job in the healthcare sector with many doctors and nurses resigning.
There are also speculations that Germany and the rest of Europe could be under attack by various new SARS-CoV-2 variants and sub-variants but there is a concerted effort by the UN, EU and the EMA to withhold this information.
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