Berlin, Dec. 24 (EFE). – In many regions of Germany, local health offices are no longer able to trace contacts of people newly infected with the virus due to a saturation of cases, according to the German Health Physicians’ Association, which alerted on Friday. Public (BVÖGD).
The head of that organization, Utti Tchert, told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” media network that at the moment there was “no longer a comprehensive survey” in the country and that many “Länder” have abandoned the procedure altogether.
According to Teichert, in these federal states, including the city state of Berlin, health offices no longer order the positive to quarantine or inform their contacts, but rather trust those affected with personal responsibility to do so.
“The question is whether everyone will do it,” Tchert cautioned, noting that the arrival of the fifth wave associated with the omicron variant will pose an additional challenge to health bureaus, who have already reached their limit, and may be facing saturation “like never before.”
The director of health for the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Detlev Wagner, confirmed that tracing in the German capital has been largely restricted due to a staff shortage.
As he told the regional chain “RBB”, in this case, priority is given to tracking within vulnerable groups, such as those over the age of 70 and people living in assisted housing.
According to the Robert Koch Institute of Virology (RKI), which is responsible for counting the data, currently 95% of German health offices are able to transmit new cases daily, which leaves almost no time for other activities, such as tracing.
In addition to the technical problems with the program, there is the fact that there is significant staff volatility, with many employees resigning due to pressure and support from the military or workers from other departments only temporarily.
In recent days, the cumulative infection rate has decreased in Germany, which is still waiting for the effect of the omicron variant, which will be observed in the next few days, according to the Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach.
“Even those who have been vaccinated should get tested,” he wrote on Twitter on Friday, warning that due to the holidays there will be delays in recording data by health offices, but even as the situation is “monitored”. EFE
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