In order to alleviate the shortage of staff in the clinics, the head of the statutory health insurance physicians calls for the lifting of all corona quarantine obligations.
Berlin – The shortage of staff in the hospitals is great. One problem: Many employees are in quarantine at home because of Corona. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Andreas Gassen, has now spoken out in favor of lifting all corona isolation and quarantine obligations.
These should be “repealed until further notice, which would alleviate the shortage of staff in many places,” Gassen told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung . “We have to get back to normal. Anyone who is sick stays at home. Anyone who feels healthy goes to work. That’s how we deal with other infectious diseases like the flu.”
Gassen: Corona case numbers are high – but the courses are almost always mild
Gassen admitted that the number of infections had been very high for months and that there were probably hundreds of thousands of undetected infections per day due to fewer tests. However, the courses are almost always mild. “So the problem is not the many infections, but that those who test positive stay at home for several days even without symptoms and are sent into isolation. This creates staff shortages in the clinics and elsewhere.”
The intensive care physician Christian Karagiannidis from the Corona Expert Council reported on problems caused by these bottlenecks at the end of June – almost half of the around 1,300 intensive care units nationwide had already reported an acute shortage of staff. “The staff situation in the intensive care units is extremely tense,” said Karagiannidis. “The system is closer to a tipping point than I previously thought.”
Kassenärzte boss: Corona variant Omikron is “almost an offer of peace from the virus”
Gassen called the omicron virus variant “almost a peace offering from the virus.” Anyone who becomes infected after a triple vaccination “even benefits from an infection by acquiring mucosal immunity”. However, no one should actively become infected. “But we cannot hide from the virus permanently. And we are the last country in Europe that is still so excitedly discussing a corona emergency,” Gassen said.
Gassen contradicts Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), who recently warned against lifting the protective measures during his trip to the USA. Otherwise, according to Lauterbach, Germany would be heading for a “catastrophic corona situation” in autumn and winter. “If we went into autumn like we are now, without further protective measures, without masks, without anything, then that would mean that the number of cases would rise sharply, but the intensive care units would also be overloaded,” warned the health expert on Thursday (April 21). July) in Washington DC
On Twitter, the Federal Minister of Health responded directly to Gassen’s demand to abolish the obligation to isolate and quarantine: “Infected people must stay at home. Otherwise, not only will the number of cases increase even more, but the workplace itself will become a security risk,” Lauterbach tweeted. And it doesn’t just stop at a swipe at alleys – because Lauterbach also clearly criticizes the fact that the head of the panel doctor has announced that he will not be boosted again in the fall: “… it doesn’t help if an important doctor’s official emphasizes, he will not be vaccinated in the fall. That doesn’t create trust.”(you with dpa)
