Intensive care doctors say swift action is needed to prevent critical care wards from being overwhelmed. The warning comes despite the public furor over plans for a strict Easter lockdown, which were quickly rescinded.
Germany's intensive care doctors have called for a two-week hard lockdown in order to avoid overwhelming the health care system.
A mix of hard lockdown, vaccinations and testing is necessary to "prevent intensive care units from being overflowed," the head of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Christian Karagiannidis, told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
His comments come as Germany battles a third wave of coronavirus infections.
Karagiannidis called on ministers to put an immediate stop to any planned openings in light of the rapid rise in cases. "I ask politicians not to abandon hospital staff," he said.
Reopening plans 'completely inappropriate'
Karagiannidis said that the reopening plans, eyed for the weeks and months following Easter, were completely inappropriate and should be withdrawn immediately.
Thomas Strobl, a deputy chairman of Merkel's CDU party, also called for a hard lockdown in the face of rising infections. "The truth is that we would need a short all-encompassing lockdown to stop the rapid spread of mutant B117," he told the Stuttgarter Zeitung.
Health officials warned on Friday that the third wave is likely to be more difficult to curb than the previous two, largely due to the more virulent and easily transmitted B117 variant.
In the interview, Karagiannidis echoed the concerns of Health Minister Jens Spahn, who said Germany's health care system could be pushed to its limits in April.
"At the moment, the figures are rising too fast and the variants are making the situation especially dangerous," said Spahn on Friday. "If this continues unchecked, we run the risk that our health system could reach its breaking point in April."
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Big eyes and big sales
Last year brick-and-mortar pet supplies retailers had an overall turnover of €4.5 billion ($5.3 billion) for food and things like official pet toys and beds. It was a 4.3% increase over 2019. Online sales came in at around €820 million. Add in wild bird feed, and the industry brought in nearly €5.5 billion during the pandemic year, according to data released by IVH, a pet supply industrial group.
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Puppies for every season
Not surprisingly, man's best friend is no stranger in Germany. With the sales and prices of dogs up in the past year, the country is now home to over 10 million dogs. During the pandemic these dogs were not a luxury but often a companion and a shield against loneliness. Who wouldn't spend a little more — or splurge on gourmet food or a steak — on a beloved family member?
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Cats are the top of the heap
But in Germany, cats are king. Currently there are 15.7 million of them, a quarter of all house pets. Though felines are known for being easy to care for, German fashion legend Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette had a life of luxury. Though they lived in France, he was doing what many of his countrymen do. The biggest increase last year was spending for cat snacks and milk. It was up 9.4%.
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Almost 35 million and counting
The country added around a million new pets in the past year. Now 47% of households have some sort of pet but they are not all just cats and dogs. There are 5 million small animals like rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and mice. On top of that there are 3.5 million birds, 1.8 million aquariums and around 1.3 million terrariums for lizards and turtles. Caring for all these animals is big business.
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Looking their best in lockdown
While most people in Germany are required to socially distance, house pets can visit their friends while out walking. Chance encounters like this may be the reason that veterinarians, groomers and dog walkers have been kept busy. These costs and the original purchase of the pets are not in the study. So the real figure for animal spending is much higher than the report's €5 billion.
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Germans are far behind the US
The Germans may love their pets. Yet, by international standards they are laggards. When looking at pet care spending per person in 2019, Germany was in fifth place, according to research done by "The Economist." Ahead of it was Switzerland, France and the UK. In the number one spot was the US, which left everyone in the dust and spent more than double what the Germans shelled out.
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Traveling and eating in style
Though the lion's share of spending goes to pet food, other things are becoming must-haves. Forget ordinary carrying cases, rich pet owners are reaching for Tiffany leashes and Prada carry bags. Others are shopping for Versace food bowls, sweaters from Ralph Lauren or puffy vests by Moncler to keep their pets warm. And that doesn't include all the funny costumes often posted on Instagram.
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Working from home, shopping online
Since many people are working from home, it is good news for pets but bad news for pet day care businesses. Yet in general, the pet business has been a winner of coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. A lot is spent in grocery stores or specialty pet shops, but online shopping for pet supplies is growing. Last year, online spending was at least €820 million, a 16% increase over the previous year.
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Germans spend a fortune on coronavirus pandemic lockdown pets
Lockdown friends, for now
While the prices of some animals have gone through the roof recently, many fear criminals are increasingly dealing with animals transporting them from dodgy breeding farms throughout Europe. Others are worried that when the pandemic is over and things go back to normal, owners won't have the time or just no longer want their two or four-legged companions anymore. Animal shelters fear the worst.
Author: Timothy Rooks
RKI reports highest incidence rate
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control on Saturday reported its highest seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants since mid-January. The rate, which stood at 124.9, was just 119 the day before.
RKI chief Lothar Wieler also warned Germans to reduce their social contacts over the Easter holidays. Wieler told reporters on Friday that if sufficient measures aren't taken, the number of new infections per day could reach or exceed 100,000.
Although 10% of the German population has now received a first dose of the vaccine, the gains from vaccinations are being eaten away by the high infection rate, he said.
The comments come as leaders continue to argue over how to curb the latest surge. Last week, following talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the 16 state premiers, officials announced a five-day lockdown over the Easter holiday week. The measure, however, was swiftly rescinded in the face of a public backlash.
Germany reported 20,472 new cases and 157 new deaths on Saturday, bringing the respective totals to 2,755,225 and 75,780 since the start of the pandemic.
lc/mm (Reuters, dpa)
https://www.dw.com/en/covid-german-doctors-call-for-2-week-hard-lockdown/a-57023394
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