Even if it sometimes seems like it: The coronavirus pandemic is by no means over. The Federal Government’s Expert Council is already warning of the cold season – and recommends some well-known measures, but above all the creation of “sustainable structures”.
The Robert Koch Institute gave the seven-day incidence on Wednesday morning as 238.1 – a number that would have rung all the alarm bells just a few months ago. In the meantime it seems to have got used to it. Of the large number of infections, of the many deaths (last 145 in 24 hours) – but also of life in large parts without masks, distance rules and contact restrictions. But this Tuesday is also the day on which the Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council warns: The pandemic is not over yet, it could even pick up speed in autumn – and we should prepare.
Recommendations of the Coronavirus Expert Council
In Berlin, the committee presented its recommendations for the cold season. Apparently, it’s also about learning from past mistakes, also in terms of communication. The Expert Council based its considerations on three scenarios: A new variant that is more contagious than Omicron but less sickening. A similar trending spread as currently. Or an unfavorable scenario in which a new virus variant has a higher transmission rate and at the same time causes more severe illness.
The committee sees as goals for the further course of the pandemic – no matter what the conditions are – that “all preventive, therapeutic and other measures (should) be aimed at the beginning of a new wave of infections in autumn in order to dampen them as early as possible”. , specifically the experts are concerned with:
From this, the members of the council unanimously derived five decisive measures to prepare for the autumn and winter, these are expressly recommendations for politics:
The members of the Federal Government’s Expert Council emphasized that they are not concerned with short-term measures, but rather with creating sustainable structures in order to be prepared for future epidemics.
The Federal Government’s Expert Council was launched in December 2021 by the traffic light coalition. It consists of 19 scientists from different disciplines. They should advise the federal government on questions relating to the Covid 19 pandemic and also consider non-medical issues. The panel’s recommendations are not binding on politicians. From July, the federal and state governments want to discuss which measures they want to take for autumn and winter.
Sources: The federal government’s coronavirus expert council: “Pandemic preparation for autumn/winter 2022/23”, Robert Koch Institute, DPA news agency
