Corona Splinters

The last time you read a splinter blog was at the beginning of July 2020. The following splinters are devoted to Corona. What else?

2G+

Baden-Württemberg's new Corona ordinance entered into force yesterday and is inspired by the recent decisions on the federal and state level.

However, given the high Corona incidence in The Länd, BW's new stringent regulations surpass the minimum federal requirements. Governor Winfried Kretschmann said, "It is important to break the fourth wave."

Note the 3G+ for hairdressers, meaning that you need
 a negative PCR test to be eligible for a haircut (©BZ)

While 2G is the common thread on the federal level, BW requires 2G+ for gastronomy and fitness studios. This excludes my visits to restaurants and Kieser Training. I refuse to stand in line at low temperatures for a rapid Corona test that will at least take half an hour of my life that won't be so long anymore.

Rin inne Kartübbeln, rut ut de Kartübbeln, i.e, Rein in die Kartoffeln, raus aus die Kartoffeln (First it's one thing, then another). Luckily, the authorities paddled back late in the evening and spared triple-vaccinated people like me the additional test.

At present, we are one and a half million in BW who have been boostered and, therefore, will continue having unrestricted access to restaurants, fitness studios, amusement parks, and cinemas.

Around six million people previously described as "fully vaccinated" with their two jabs are de facto, no longer so. They now have to present a negative rapid Corona test if they want to go for a drink. Too sad!

Here is my experience with the new regulation. Yesterday Red Baron had a lunch appointment with a good friend. She had reserved two seats at a nearby restaurant for 12:15 PM. On my way to the place, I stopped at my hairdresser's parlor and asked him whether I needed 3G and a negative PCR test to get my haircut on December 22. He confirmed that booster-jabbed persons are not obliged to pass the test.

I continued my way in high spirits, arrived at the restaurant, and found myself alone in the place. I showed my vaccination record to the waitress. She handed me the menu, but I decided to wait for my co-launcher instead.

When she arrived, the waitress immediately questioned her about her vaccination status. My friend proved that she was fully vaccinated with two jabs. Still, the waitress insisted that either an official negative rapid Corona test or the booster vaccination was necessary from today on.

I intervened, saying that I had read that this weekend would be regarded as a grace period. The waitress went to see the landlord, but he only confirmed that my friend was not allowed to be served.

I took my anorak, said goodbye, and we left. Eating alone in a restaurant is no fun.

On my way to my daughter, I stopped at a Tschibo coffee shop and had a pot of coffee with a Franzbrötchen. The latter only meant a weak consolation.

Omicron

I asked the question earlier: Will the WHO naming new Corona variants of concern soon run out of Greek letters?

Indeed, if they skip letters because:

©Stephen Colbert 

©Stephen Colbert

Will they skip the next letter Π because of pie or pee?

Omicron has no charm. It looks like an "O" or even like a "0". Take the beautiful Omega "Ω" instead, but being there would mean the WHO is at the end of its Latin, sorry of Greek letters.

Let's face it, by no means the new Corona variant is a zero. Some reports show that Omicron is more contagious than the presently dominant Delta variant.

Actually, there is a big hype on Omicron bordering hysteria and stoked by the media, although all experts tell us that nothing is known for sure. 

Some people out there know for sure (©Stephen Colbert)

If indeed Omicron is more contagious than Delta, we would need a vaccination quota of more than 95% to stop the further spread of the virus. On the other hand, Red Baron read that disease progression is mild with the Omicron strain compared to what we have experienced up to now.

Could it be that we are lucky? So with time, Omicron will take over the infection occurrence from Delta. People struck with Omicron will only develop a cough, but they will easily infect all unvaccinated persons. So one day, we wind and wake up with a Corona herd immunity of a mixture of fully vaccinated and recovered people. Wishful thinking? Who knows.

Obligatory Vaccination

If the above scenario doesn't work, vaccination is the only way out of the pandemic.

In the meantime, the discussion on obligatory vaccinations is picking up pace in Germany. One member of the German Ethics Board suggested a staggered obligatory vaccination.

While people in sensitive occupations (medical staff, old people's nurses, etc.) will soon be obliged to take a jab, the lady proposed that otherwise, only older people should be obligatorily vaccinated. She said, "According to the German registry of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), 84 percent of Covid-19 patients in the ICUs are older than 50, and 63 percent are older than 60. It is obvious that it is precisely these people who need to be protected by vaccination to avoid overburdening the healthcare system."

 
Indeed, an upper age limit for obligatory vaccination could be defined in analyzing the age distribution in intensive care.

My weak and sad counterargument is that when younger people become seriously ill with Covid-19, they will be fighting for their lives and occupy intensive care units longer than many old.

Rudolstadt 

Today Red Baron was shocked when he read:

There are now 27 deaths after a Corona outbreak in a nursing home in Rudolstadt, Thuringia. Among the formerly 141 residents, six people still tested positive for Corona. 

 Last week the authorities communicated that about a third of the residents were not vaccinated. How did this happen? Better didn't this happen? All vulnerable persons in Germany are supposed to be vaccinated by now.

I shake my head sadly.

Wave Breaker

The German word of the year 2021 is wave breaker. Let us hope the new measures will break the fourth Corona wave.

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