Berlin (dpa) – In view of the rapid spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus, there are no signs yet that the strict measures in Germany will be relaxed. Ahead of another crisis meeting between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the premiers of the federal states on Monday, however, there was initially no talk of stricter rules, either. “We don’t need to change course,” Chancellor Scholz told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. This is supported by the government’s Corona Expert Council. In a new statement, however, the body has called for further steps to be prepared as a precaution.
The chancellor and the state premiers are expected to decide that only limited use should be made in future of PCR tests to detect a coronavirus infection. The draft for the consultations states that the tests, only limited numbers of which are available, should be concentrated on risk groups and on employees who care for and treat them.
The number of infections in Germany continues to rise sharply. Health authorities registered 85,440 new infections within one day, as the Robert Koch Institute reported on Sunday. The number of new daily cases had exceeded the 100,000 mark for the first time in the middle of last week. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach expects the omicron wave to peak in mid-February.