A party night in Münster turns into a superspreader event. Although all participants were apparently vaccinated or recovered. So is 2G already at its end? It is not that easy.
Münster – Friday evening two weeks ago in a club in Münster: 380 women and men meet to celebrate and dance after a long week of work and study.
Most of them are in their early or mid-twenties – and all of them stated on the door that they were fully vaccinated against corona or had recovered from the disease. So you adhere to the so-called 2G rule, which is a prerequisite for access. Nevertheless, it will be a party night with consequences.
Because a few days later, the corona infections accumulate among the party guests – even if only mild or no symptoms have occurred so far. First the city of Münster reports 26 infected people, then the number keeps increasing, currently there are 85 and one employee of the club (as of September 17). That is more than every fifth party participant. How can that be? Does the Superspreader event show, for example, that 2G (only vaccinated and convalescent people come in) is no better than 3G in the fight against the pandemic (people who have been tested also come in)? Is it possible that protection in 2G is not at the fore, but rather the harassment of unvaccinated people, as some suspect?
Lauterbach continues to support the 2G rule
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach has a clear opinion about the events in Münster: “Does that speak against 2G? No, of course for that. Without 2G, many more party-goers would be seriously ill, ”he recently announced.
A party with several hundred guests – hardly any space, loud music, conversations without a distance, maybe even loud singing – all of this creates an ideal environment for an infectious aerosol, said Bernd Salzberger, Chairman of the German Society for Infectious Diseases, the German Press Agency. The party night in Münster is therefore a “special situation”.
If only one or two of the guests are freshly infected, infections are also possible in those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, especially with the particularly contagious Delta variant of the disease. Because with delta infections the vaccination protection decreases, the probability of a so-called vaccination breakthrough increases rapidly.
According to the current status, the city rules out false information from guests about their vaccination status as an explanation. So far, no violations of the vaccination certificates requested by infected people have been found, said the press office of the city of Münster. It could not be due to the structural requirements: According to the maintenance company, the club’s ventilation systems even exceeded the requirements. And the clear majority of the guests were vaccinated with the mRNA vaccines, which are particularly effective against Delta, announced the city.
Vaccination protects where infection cannot be prevented
So it can be concluded that party nights in clubs or discos are not possible without infection, even with 2G, said Salzberger – perhaps differently than in restaurants, where more distance is kept. However, none of the participants got seriously ill. The vaccination also protects against severe courses where an infection cannot be prevented.
The question of security through 2G rules is explosive, after all, numerous states such as Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Saxony have announced 2G hurdles for indoor events. Legal checks could threaten defeat in court if these serious restrictions on freedom for non-vaccinated people could not be justified by a clear benefit.
The Münster crisis team leader Wolfgang Heuer drew his own conclusion: “It is known that people can continue to be infected and become carriers despite immunization,” he told the dpa. “But it is also clear that the vaccination extremely reduces the risk of a serious illness.” The series of infections again shows the enormous importance of vaccinations – and that no one should be carefree, especially not with close contacts in closed rooms. dpa
