Current Corona situation New Corona protection ordinance in NRW applies from Friday

Bonn/Region · In North Rhine-Westphalia, the new Corona Protection Ordinance will apply from Friday. The rules are now much simpler. Booster vaccinations are to start quickly. Current developments around the pandemic.

 The new Corona Protection Ordinance will apply from Friday.

The new Corona Protection Ordinance will apply from Friday.

Foto: dpa/Marijan Murat

New Corona rules in NRW

The new corona protection regulation for North Rhine-Westphalia is now only eight pages long - the last version had 37 pages. Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) spoke on Tuesday of a "turn of the times" with regard to the new set of rules. There are now many freedoms again, said Laumann. Nevertheless, strict measures will still apply in the future.

In fact, the rules themselves are now simpler: as the only indicator, there is now only the 7-day incidence of 35, from which the "3G rules" (German for vaccinated, recovered or tested) apply, for example, for visits to indoor catering. Previously, there had been several incidence levels in NRW. The new corona protection regulation is effective from Friday.

The following points of the new Corona Protection Ordinance are already known:

  • Masks should continue to be worn indoors, in public transport, outdoors at large events or in queues. These rules also apply to vaccinated persons.
  • In order to receive body-related services or to visit a restaurant, a daily rapid test is required for non-vaccinated persons. This measure applies when the seven-day incidence in a county or incorporated city exceeds 35 cases per 100,000 residents for five consecutive days.
  • Stricter rules will also apply to non-vaccinated persons in discotheques, clubs or at weddings: In the future, a PCR test will be required there.

Appeal of intensive care physicians: "Please get vaccinated“

Aachen-based intensive care physician Gernot Marx has issued an urgent appeal to get vaccinated as soon as possible in view of the rising Corona infection figures in the summer months. "We are not out of the woods yet," Marx said in a joint press briefing with NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) in Düsseldorf on Tuesday. In order to prevent a significant increase in the numbers in the fall and winter, significantly more people would have to be vaccinated in the coming weeks. He referred to the expected seasonal course similar.

Therefore, the appeal is: "Please get vaccinated". Those who are vaccinated protect themselves, their environment and also ensure that the need for intensive care beds remains as low as possible. Those who are fully vaccinated are effectively protected against severe courses of the disease. It is in everyone's own hands to keep the fourth wave small and to cope with the pandemic. Wearing the mouth-nose mask and observing the AHA rules are also important.

The number of intensive care patients is currently already well above last year's figures and the trend is upward, explained Marx, who is president of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. Marx reported 548 people receiving intensive care treatment for corona, according to association figures. A year ago, he said, there were only 226, less than half as many. Many patients in the intensive care units were from the third wave, he said. About three percent of intensive care capacity is currently needed for Corona patients, he said. The situation is still very much under control, he said.

Vaccination centers in NRW to be dissolved - Coordination centers in future

The structure for Corona vaccinations in NRW is being reorganized. The vaccination centers in the districts and independent cities will be closed as planned at the end of September. In their place, so-called "coordinating Covid vaccination units" will be established in each municipality, as NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) announced in Düsseldorf on Tuesday.

The coordination units, which are financed by the state, are to be local partners for doctors and care facilities and organize decentralized vaccination campaigns in clubhouses or gymnasiums, for example. The coordination centers are also to organize booster vaccinations in nursing homes. The vaccination centers cost about 91 million euros each month, Laumann said.

Laumann: Around 80 percent of those over 16 in NRW vaccinated

Around 80 percent of those over 16 in North Rhine-Westphalia have been vaccinated. This rate was given by Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) in Düsseldorf on Tuesday. This means that around three million people in NRW over the age of 16 have not yet been vaccinated. Of these, about half still need to be convinced in order to reach a quota of 90 percent.

12- to 17-year-olds may also be vaccinated without parents

Following the vote of the Permanent Vaccination Commission in favor of Corona vaccinations for all children over the age of twelve, the vaccination centers in North Rhine-Westphalia are also to make corresponding offers. This was announced by Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) in Düsseldorf on Tuesday. It is planned that parents do not necessarily have to be present when a written declaration is presented. It was also planned that appointments for the vaccination centers could be made in schools. The minister also referred to the vaccinations already underway at pediatricians and family doctors.

Previously, special vaccination services for schoolchildren at the vaccination centers and schools were only for secondary school students. The Ministry of Education pointed out that the consent of the parent or guardian must be obtained and that medical consultation, following the recommendations and guidelines of the Permanent Vaccination Commission, must be ensured locally.

Of course, the ability to attend school will still not depend on the vaccination status of the students, the NRW Ministry of Education reiterated. However, for fully vaccinated or recovered students, participation in the Corona tests in schools would no longer be required.

Original text: ga/dpa

Translation: Mareike Graepel

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