With one week to go until the next coronavirus summit between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the federal states, the high-profile German virologist Christian Drosten has once again warned against relaxing coronavirus restrictions too soon, saying not enough enough people will be vaccinated in the coming weeks to sufficiently protect the population against COVID-19. 

Too soon to lift restrictions in Germany, says Drosten

The number of coronavirus infections in Germany is continuing to fall, as the country’s vaccination programme gradually begins to pick up pace, but Drosten is still adamant that it is too soon to think about lifting restrictions. 

“For the period until Easter, we cannot yet expect much in the way of population protection through vaccination,” the scientist said in his NDR podcast, Coronavirus Update. Even if vaccinations reduce the number of deaths, Drosten emphasised, it was still essential to bring down the total number of cases. 

He spoke of a possible scenario where, if restrictions were lifted too early, the disease could run rampant within population groups that have not yet been vaccinated - such as the 40-to-60-year-olds, a group which comprises more than 23 million people - and still cause severe infections. Among other things, this could lead to an overload of the healthcare system and high levels of sick leave in companies. 

Next coronavirus summit scheduled for February 10

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the 16 state premiers are due to meet on February 10 to decide whether to extend or loosen the current lockdown, which is due to expire on February 14. The current restrictions, which to varying degrees of severtiy have been in place since the end of October, have forced the closure of restaurants, bars, nonessential shops, and cultural and leisure facilities. 

Several state leaders have, however, already indicated that an easing of restrictions is not to be expected. During a televised interview with German broadcaster ARD on Tuesday, Merkel urged people in Germany to “hold out for a while longer”. While acknowledging that the decreasing seven-day incidence was a “good achievement”, Merkel said the virus still wasn’t totally under control. “We still have a long way to go, and the hardest stretch is this winter.” 

At a “vaccination summit” on Monday, Health Minister Jens Spahn warned that supply issues meant the country would have to endure “tough weeks of shortages” of the coronavirus vaccine until the end of March. After that, delivery quantities should increase significantly. On Tuesday, Merkel reiterated the promise to have every adult in Germany vaccinated by late September.