Germany Covid Update—On Monday night, tens of thousands of Germans flocked to the streets to express their displeasure with the country’s coronavirus measures.
Attendees waved anti-vaccination banners and signs as a sign of their opposition.
More than 70,000 people are thought to have turned out for the different protests held across the country, based on police data.
There were substantial police presence and counter-demonstrations in various areas during the protests.
Rostock, Bautzen, and Cottbus, three eastern German cities, hosted several events, with most attendees not wearing face masks or adhering to social isolation.
Due to health and safety violations, a number of the protesters had to be dispersed by the police. Rostock and Bautzen police both got involved. However, the vast majority of the protests were peaceful.
Police estimate that 21,000 people walked to the streets in Thuringia alone, while 14,000 people demonstrated against Germany’s COVID regulations in Bavaria.
About 3,000 people showed up in Berlin, where protesters marched past famous sights, including the Brandenburg Gate.
Mandating vaccinations has many people upset.
Protesters are particularly opposed to the possibility of mandatory vaccination for all Germans, which is still not legislation at the time of this writing.
There have been objections after German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach stated this would be preferable to a new lockdown in the coming months.
According to Lauterbach, “I would prefer that we safeguard [the unvaccinated] through a widespread requirement to be vaccinated rather than with limits for all in the spring.” In Berlin, one sign read: “Whoever sleeps in a democracy wakes up in a dictatorship.” Another read: “the vaccinated and the unvaccinated against compulsory vaccination.” On a car loudspeaker in Berlin, someone called for the arrest of former chancellor Merkel, former health minister Spahn, current president Steinmeier, and well-known German virologist Drosten.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler’s NSDAP assumed power, and the “German media” was referred to be “compliant” by the press, which was a term used to define press coverage. Meanwhile, German COVID caseloads are at all-time highs as the omicron strain spreads.
On the other hand, hospitalization and death rates have not increased at the same rate. The sheer number of persons who have been immunized may contribute to this. Another possible explanation is that the symptoms associated with omicron are milder than those of other COVID variations.
Germany Covid Update: Cases Rise
A record 112,323 new coronavirus infections were registered in Germany on Wednesday, making it the first daily total of more than 100,000. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a national disease control organization, released the figures early this morning.
The weekly incidence rate now stands at 584.4 new infections per 100,000 people over seven days, according to the RKI.
According to the institution, the number of deaths linked to COVID was down to 239, down from 384 the previous Wednesday.
The weekly hospitalization rate increased slightly from 3.13 to 3.17 people per 100,000 people, but it was still much below the national average of 3.20. In recent weeks, Omicron variant cases have increased in Germany despite the country’s relatively modest start compared to other European countries such as France, the Netherlands, and Britain.
More than 460,000 instances have been documented in France, which has a population of almost 15 million fewer people. In comparison to Germany’s 83 million people, Italy had a population of approximately 60,000,000.
Over 70% of new cases in Germany are caused by omicron this week.
According to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, the latest omicron-fueled wave is expected to climax in the middle of February. He stated on RTL television late Tuesday.
Limiting entry to pubs and restaurants for individuals who have had their booster injections or people who have been tested to prevent the spread of the virus has been implemented by Germany in recent days. Anger over Germany’s coronavirus restrictions erupted in tens of thousands of demonstrations around the country on Monday night.
Germany Covid Update: Berlin Becomes a Hot Spot for Covid
In Berlin’s Charlottenburg neighborhood, four young people have gathered outside the registrar’s office with a bottle of champagne and a miniature wedding cake. The sound of their raucous laughter fills the air. Only seven guests were allowed to attend the wedding of Angela and Johannes due to pandemic limitations. For the wedding, “we had to be vaccinated, recovered, or recently tested,” the bride explained. She went on to say that the ceremony lasted between 10 and 15 minutes.
As soon as we replied yes, “we were allowed to remove our masks and kiss each other.” She’s determined not to allow the alarming rise in diseases plaguing Berlin to dampen her spirits this week. Despite this, Kreuzberg is a gloomy place to be. The streets, lined with numerous small businesses, restaurants, and cafes, are strangely quiet, and only a few people pass past.
“It’s completely dead,” a sales representative declared. She’s never been depressed like this before. Fewer and fewer individuals are venturing out due to the widespread sickness.
In Berlin, the number of infections has risen dramatically. Nearly 1,000 infections per 100,000 people are found in seven days. Delta has long been phased out of densely populated regions like Mitte, Neukölln, Friedrichshain, and Kreuzberg to the southeast.
Attesting sites, there are long waits.
There has been a rush to the 12 state-owned test centers that offer free, fast antigen and PCR tests because of the high number of illnesses in the state.
The streets are lined with long lines of people waiting to get in. On Saturday afternoon, a young couple standing outside a test location in the Wedding District told DW that they had already been in line for an hour and would have to wait another hour to take the exam. According to the narrator, “We ran two quick tests that were both negative.” “However, we have come into contact with an infected person. That’s why we’ve decided to conduct a PCR test to get more information.” Many people are behind them, all wearing FFP2 masks, and they’re all spread out across a vast area.
More than 300 meters of cable are involved (nearly 1,000 feet). At the start of the week, there is a chance of rain. If you don’t have COVID, you’re going to get sick at the very least. Fewer people are waiting in line outside of Coronatest.de’s test centers. The company has 50 test locations across the country, 20 of which are located in Berlin. In an interview with DW, managing director Benjamin Föckersberger says that the company offers antigen and PCR testing, which are reviewed in four laboratories.
PCR swabs in this country range in price from €14.99 to €120 ($17-$137), depending on urgency and purpose.
Only two labs in Berlin have been given the task of evaluating the results of public testing. It can take up to three days for the results to be conveyed due to the high volume of work.
All patients hospitalized at the city’s renowned Charite University Hospital must be kept in isolation until the PCR test results come in. Although Föckersberger has offered to help, the health administration has refused this.
There are many things Benjamin Föckersberger wants to see happen with the appointment of Ulrike Gote as the city’s top health officer. The problem is that many of his test center staff have phoned in sick, and as a result, he can only run half of them at total capacity right now.
As a result of high infection rates and a significant number of sick people, Berlin’s population may soon lose access to health care services. Meanwhile, other parts of the world are coping. The supermarkets’ shelves are still filled with plenty of goods. Even the city’s public transportation firms have already declared that they will reduce the number of buses on some lines this week because of ongoing infrastructural issues.
