Omicron: Germany to limit private gatherings after Christmas | News | TheTeCHyWorLD

Germany’s federal and state leaders on Tuesday agreed to impose contact restrictions — including for vaccinated and recovered individuals — starting next week. The regulations — which come into effect “at the latest” on December 28 — are aimed to dissuade people from holding and attending large New Year’s Eve celebrations amid concerns over the omicron variant. “Now is not the time for parties in large groups,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

What are the new rules?

Under the new rules, a maximum of 10 people who have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 would be allowed to attend a private gathering. In cases when an unvaccinated person is present, only one other household would be able to attend. The new capacity limits apply to both indoor and outdoor celebrations. Access to restaurants remains limited to people who could provide proof of vaccination or recovery. One of the significant changes includes stricter rules on large events. Starting on December 28, spectators will be banned from sporting events, cultural shows, concerts and other large public events. An earlier draft had suggested allowing a smaller number of attendees. Fireworks will also be banned for New Year’s Eve celebrations. Clubs will also be required to close across the nation. Meanwhile, financial support will still be extended to companies and organizations affected by pandemic-related measures. The German government continued to urge increased vaccinations, not only for those who need a booster but also for people who haven’t received their first shot. Vaccination centers will remain open throughout December and early January, despite the holidays. Scholz’s government has also set a new vaccination goal of 80% — and hopes to administer 30 million booster shots by the end of January.

Why do the curbs take effect after Christmas?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he and the country’s 16 state leaders “deliberately decided” to implement the stricter curbs after the Christmas holidays. “Experience over the past two years has shown that Christmas and Easter haven’t been great drivers of infections,” Scholz told reporters at a press conference. He added that families have so far been “cautious and responsible” when it comes to gathering over the holidays. That’s why the curbs on private gatherings specifically target New Year’s Eve celebrations, he added. With the omicron variant becoming more dominant in countries around the world, the coronavirus pandemic “won’t be over as soon as we had hoped,” Scholz said.

Germany still needs ‘to prepare a general lockdown’

While the new curbs fall short of a lockdown, the German government is also preparing for the event that more drastic measures could be necessary next year, German MP Johannes Wagner told TheTeCHyWorLD. “We will do everything which is needed, and on the other side, we do have to prepare a general lockdown, so in case we need one next year, this can be implemented very fast,” said Wagner, who is a pediatrician and member of the co-governing Green Party. German lawmakers in the Bundestag will also debate whether to make COVID vaccines mandatory for the general public — and how they will implement it. “In my opinion, yes — we need mandatory vaccination next year,” Wagner said, adding that it will help “close the gap of people who are not yet vaccinated.” TheTeCHyWorLD political correspondent Simon Young said that many in the German government, however, are keen to avoid a return to the more strict curbs seen in 2020 and  “I think [the German government] are guided by all the science, but they are also guided by the desire to avoid large-scale lockdowns,” Young said. “It’s a balancing act.”

Infection rate shows dip

Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control on Monday said that, with the spread of the omicron variant, people who have recovered or had a full first round of vaccine now face a “high” risk of infection. It said the risk was “moderate” for those who have received a booster and “very high” for the unvaccinated. The RKI subsequently recommended “maximum contact restrictions” that should “start immediately” and continue until mid-January. It also urged the reduction of travel to the “absolutely necessary.” The RKI reported 24,428 cases of new infections on Tuesday, 7,395 fewer cases 7 days ago. The 7-day incidence per 100,000 dropped from 316 on Monday to 306.4 on Tuesday. There were 462 fatalities linked to the virus on Tuesday, bringing the total to 108,814. Over the weekend, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach ruled out the idea of a lockdown for Germany prior to Christmas. At the same time, he has warned that the country would face a “massive wave” due to the omicron variant of the virus. Thirteen police officers were injured in southern Germany on Monday night after authorities tried to end an unauthorized march against coronavirus restrictions. rs, rc/sms (dpa, Reuters, AFP, AP)

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Better keep your distance in case of COVID

  That’s how to do it: If humans have COVID-19, dogs had better cuddle with their stuffed animals. Researchers from Utrecht in the Netherlands took nasal swabs and blood samples from 48 cats and 54 dogs in 2021 whose owners had contracted COVID-19 in the last 200 days. Lo and behold, they found the virus in 17.4% of cases. Of the animals, 4.2% also showed symptoms.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Animals can get sick, too

  About a quarter of the animals that had been infected were also sick. Although the course of the illness was mild in most of the animals, three were considered to be severe. Nevertheless, medical experts are not very concerned. They say pets do not play an important role in the pandemic. The biggest risk is human-to-human transmission.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  To pet, or not to pet?

  The fact that cats can become infected with coronaviruses has been known since March 2020. At that time, the Veterinary Research Institute in Harbin, China, had shown for the first time that the novel coronavirus can replicate in cats. The house tigers can also pass on the virus to other felines, but not very easily, said veterinarian Hualan Chen at the time.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Don’t worry

  But cat owners shouldn’t panic. Felines quickly form antibodies to the virus, so they aren’t contagious for very long. Anyone who is acutely ill with COVID-19 should temporarily restrict outdoor access for domestic cats. Healthy people should wash their hands thoroughly after petting strange animals.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Who’s infecting whom?

  Should this pet pig keep a safe distance from the dog when walking in Rome? That question may now also have to be reassessed. Pigs hardly come into question as carriers of the coronavirus, the Harbin veterinarians argued in 2020. But at that time they had also cleared dogs of suspicion. Does that still apply?

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  When humans are a threat

  Nadia, a four-year-old Malaysian tiger, was one of the first big cats to be detected with the virus in 2020 — at a New York zoo. “It is, to our knowledge, the first time a wild animal has contracted COVID-19 from a human,” the zoo’s chief veterinarian told National Geographic magazine.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  COVID hits zoos again

  In early December 2021, two hippos at Antwerp Zoo in Belgium tested positive for coronavirus. Both animals, mother Hermien and daughter Imani, had a cold. Otherwise, they were doing well. The zoo had to close temporarily and quarantine the hippos.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Have bats been wrongly accused?

  It is thought that the virus originated in the wild. So far, bats are considered the most likely first carriers of SARS-CoV-2. However, veterinarians assume there must have been another species as an intermediate host between them and humans in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Only which species this could be is unclear.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  The prime suspect

  This racoon dog is a known carrier of the SARS viruses. German virologist Christian Drosten spoke about the species being a potential virus carrier. “Racoon dogs are trapped on a large scale in China or bred on farms for their fur,” he said. For Drosten, the racoon dog is clearly the prime suspect.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Or perhaps this little suspect?

  Pangolins are also under suspicion for transmitting the virus. Researchers from Hong Kong, China and Australia have detected a virus in a Malaysian Pangolin that shows stunning similarities to SARS-CoV-2.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Quarantine for ferrets

  Hualan Chen also experimented with ferrets. The result: SARS-CoV-2 can multiply in the scratchy martens in the same way as in cats. Transmission between animals occurs as droplet infections. At the end of 2020, tens of thousands of martens had to be killed in various fur farms worldwide because the animals had become infected with SARS-CoV-2.

• Dogs and cats can also be infected with coronavirus

  Are chickens a danger to humans?

  Experts have given the all-clear for people who handle poultry, such as this trader in Wuhan, China, where scientists believe the first case of the virus emerged in 2019. Humans have nothing to worry about, as chickens are practically immune to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as are ducks and other bird species. Author: Fabian Schmidt