In recent data released by health officials from Germany, the country has officially passed 100,00 deaths caused by Covid-19. The official stats as of today show 5,595,674 total cases confirmed, and 100,123 total deaths since the start of the pandemic. The devastating news comes amid an alarming surge in Covid cases in the region.
Germany has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe with 68% of people vaccinated. Only in the last week alone, 1,372 have died in the region due to Covid, their infection rate right now is the worst among many countries.
Just at the start of this week, Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn said in a news conference, “By the end of this winter everyone in Germany will either be vaccinated, recovered or dead,” adding that, “Freedom means taking responsibility, and there is a duty to society to get vaccinated.” referring to his stance on not making vaccination compulsory but people getting it on their own “moral obligation.” he also publicly blamed those unvaccinated before calling it, “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Lawmakers in Germany have also been reviewing stricter restrictions on people who have not been vaccinated, their outdoor activity, and their involvement in public gatherings. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany herself said, “We need to quickly put a brake on the exponential rise in cases and intensive care unit occupancy.”
Saxony hospitals, which have the highest rate of infections in Germany, are overwhelmed with the cases. Head of the department there, Prof Sebastian Stehr addressed the issue saying, “It’s very difficult to get staff motivated to treat patients now in this fourth wave. A large part of the population still underestimates the problem.” Germany is among a list of other countries that have all reached staggering numbers of cases and deaths due to Covid-19.
Argentina, France, Colombia, Iran, Italy, Indonesia, UK, Peru, Russia, Mexico, India, Brazil, and the US are all among those with more than 100,000 deaths due to Covid-19. Germany is now the fourteenth country on their list, which is highly unfortunate news since all of this can be contained with the science-backed vaccine.
Roland Engehausen, the general manager of the Bavarian hospitals association already warned that this is highly alarming to happen, especially before the Holiday season, saying the number of cases and the spread has to come down sharply, “Otherwise we’re going to have a dramatic situation between Christmas and New Year’s the likes of which we haven’t seen yet.”
Meanwhile, the anti-vax side of the country, just as any other country, is highly offended and takes it personally as an infringement of their freedom. There have been protests as well, with people opposing the ban on unvaccinated people in public places.
