German health officials warn urgent action needed as Covid situation ‘is coming to a head’

German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called on regional administrations to introduce stricter measures to contain a dangerous third wave of Covid, warning officials know from last year “what happens when we don’t act quickly.”

Speaking to reporters, Spahn laid out the government’s concerns about the lack of action from some federal states, declaring that the country cannot wait until a national law on Covid restrictions is implemented or risk a dangerous spike in cases.

“We know from last autumn what happens when we don’t act quickly,” Spahn said on Thursday, citing estimations from doctors that there will be at least 6,000 patients in the health service’s intensive care units at the end of April.

The health minister’s remarks echo the concerns of Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s public health organization, who fears that the third wave could be worse than previous bouts of the pandemic.

Addressing the impact of the pandemic at his weekly news conference, Wieler highlighted how the “situation in the hospitals is coming to a head.”

The concerns around the impact of the pandemic come despite Spahn saying the country’s vaccine rollout is on course, with Germany set to have achieved its goal of vaccinating 20% of the population with at least one dose by the end of the month.

As of Tuesday, 19.2 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country, with only 5.2 million individuals having been fully vaccinated.

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