German Health Minister Sees No Reasons To Ease COVID-19 Restrictions Yet

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 14, 2022 | 11:05 PM

The COVID-19 situation in Germany gives no grounds to ease the restrictions at this point, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Friday and expressed concern over lax controls in some regions

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2022) The COVID-19 situation in Germany gives no grounds to ease the restrictions at this point, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Friday and expressed concern over lax controls in some regions.

"The easing (of restrictive measures) can be ruled out at the moment. We are in the phase of a complicated Omicron wave ... We have a large number of unvaccinated people, and some of them have risk factors such as autoimmune diseases, metabolic issues, and the like. So, there are no reasons for easing," Lauterbach told a press conference.

He said that while the existing restrictive measures are enough to curb the virus, some German regions are failing to ensure proper compliance.

Germany's regional authorities decide their restrictive measures autonomously, but most resort to a standard package of remote work, health certificates, and social distancing, among other measures.

The current German restrictions are overall much less strict than during the previous waves.

On Thursday, the country logged over 90,000 COVID-19 cases, which is the highest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic. However, the number of lethal cases and the occupancy of intensive care wards are lower than during the previous waves.

Over 45,000 took to the streets of German cities on Sunday to protest the COVID-19 restrictions, German media reported. The rallies occurred after the German government said that stricter restrictions might be imposed on visiting bars and restaurants.