Karl Lauterbach recently declared the “great times of the pandemic” to be over. In the ARD talk with Frank Plasberg, the health expert sounds a little less optimistic.
Cologne – It was a statement like a hoped-for liberation. Karl Lauterbach, the health expert, the SPD man, the Corona warning. He, of all people, who liked to step on the brakes again and again with the increasingly louder calls for relaxation in Germany, recently emphasized to the Augsburger Allgemeine: “I think the great times of the pandemic are over.” Lauterbach predicted a decline in corona infections in the May.
So far he has been proven right. The number of corona cases in Germany is falling, as is the incidence. According to the RKI, the 7-day incidence on Monday was 83.1; a week earlier, this value was 119.1 well beyond the hundred.
Karl Lauterbach restricts his own quote: “Right in the middle” of the corona pandemic
Now Lauterbach sat on Monday in the ARD talk “Hard but fair” by Frank Plasberg. And Frank Plasberg wouldn’t be Frank Plasberg if he hadn’t asked the SPD politician about that quote. Whose reaction? The quote that the great times of the pandemic were over referred to Germany – if at all, Lauterbach rowed back. Because: “If you look at the world, we are right in the middle of it.”
According to Lauterbach, his concern is mainly the result of larger group meetings that are burgeoning again. That could lead to more infections again. Lauterbach’s warning: A fourth wave is even possible. On the other hand, emphasized Lauterbach, the rapid vaccination and the simultaneous decrease in the number of corona cases resulted in a “happy situation” for Germany.
Karl Lauterbach with a clear Corona recommendation for the summer
Even more, Lauterbach hopes that the summer will mean that people will spend more time outside in the fresh air – and thus less indoors. The risk of infection is lower outdoors. “If we behave carefully, it could be a summer in which we can largely leave the horrors of the pandemic behind us,” said Lauterbach. His recommendation: “Stay outside as much as possible and inside as little as possible.” (Nc)
