Germany may put the Czech Republic on the list of countries with a high risk of COVID-19 infection, as people returning from the Czech Republic could undergo a 5-day-long quarantine.
Emerging scientific evidence has made a rethink on the rules necessary, according to Karl Lauterbach, health spokesman for Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) — the junior coalition partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives.
“If we limit the quarantine time to five days, social acceptance for the measure would be significantly higher,” Lauterbach told German daily Die Welt.
“We know that the vast majority of people are no longer contagious five days after the start of symptoms, even if the PCR test is still showing a positive result,” said Lauterbach, who is also a professor of health economics and epidemiology at the University of Cologne. The presence of the virus does not necessarily mean the patient is infectious.
In Germany, the number of new Corona infections per day is still at a relatively high level, compared to the numbers in June and July. But few local outbreaks are being reported these days.
In Dresden, the virus hit the ‘St. Benno-Gymnasium’ secondary school. At least 100 persons are being sent into quarantine in their homes.
Read: Czech Republic Report Highest Daily Number of COVID-19 Cases Since Pandemic Outbreak
In Berlin, the Senate changes the Corona rules yet again. Masks will have to be worn at protests. At restaurants, guests who add false data to the contact lists they have to fill out will be fined.
Almost four months before Christmas, Germany is discussing the question of whether Christmas markets may open in Corona times. Bavaria’s First Minister Markus Söder wants those markets to take place.
He says there was enough time to develop the right concepts.
Czech testing labs found 680 new cases of infections on Thursday, the highest one-day jump since the pandemic began.
Read: Czech Squad Staff Member Tests Positive for COVID-19
