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HEALTH

Three-quarters of Germans ‘don’t support coronavirus protests’

A large majority of Germans don’t support protests against coronavirus measures, according to a new survey carried out by opinion research institute Civey for Spiegel Online.

Published: 2 September 2020 17:05 CEST
Three-quarters of Germans 'don't support coronavirus protests'
A coronavirus demonstration in Berlin on Saturday. Photo: DPA

A total of 38,000 people took to the streets of Berlin in various demonstrations on Saturday which were later broken up by police due to the lack of measures such as social distancing.

READ ALSO: IN PICTURES: Police in Berlin halt anti-corona protest

A more radical group of around 300 protesters tried to storm the German parliament, or Reichstag, before they were stopped by police.

But a new survey shows around two-thirds of Germans are completely against the Berlin protests, while an additional 11 percent say they simply don’t support them, according to the survey.

That brings the total to 76 percent, or only two percent less than when the same survey was conducted at the beginning of August, following another large anti-coronavirus demonstration in Berlin.

However, about 20 percent of the Germans surveyed said that they “definitely” have an understanding, or lean towards supporting the demonstrators. 

The 21 percent of respondents who saw the protesters in a positive light are two percent more than in the last survey.

Voters from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were the least likely to back the protests: a full 90 percent said they were not in favour of them.  

Among voters from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), however, 69 percent said they support the protests, up two percent from a month ago. 

'A contradiction'

“These aggressive protests contradict the overall quite uplifting situation in Germany and the success of the measures taken so far,” wrote Spiegel Online. 

“Although the number of infections rose sharply over the summer and with the travel season, the number of seriously ill and dead has stagnated so far.”

On Tuesday, Berlin revised its disease control law to require that demonstrations of more than 100 protesters have a mask requirement.

READ ALSO: Berlin to require face masks at demonstrations

German Economic Minister Peter Altmaier also revised economic expectations for this year, painting a positive picture of the economic recovery he expected to see in the coming months. 

German Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) said this week that he did not expect to see a second lockdown in Germany this autumn and winter, in part due to measures such as mask wearing that allowed for shops to remain open.

READ ALSO: 'Shops won't close again': German health minister rules out second coronavirus lockdown

Vocabulary

Survey – (die) Umfrage

supporters – (die) Anhänger

contradiction – (der) Widerspruch

success – (der) Erfolg

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

 

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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