Is it just the calm before the storm or are fears about the rapidly spreading Omicron variant not materializing after all? For weeks, politicians have been very concerned about possible failures in important areas of the country’s infrastructure. On Monday, this was again a topic in the consultations of the federal and state governments. Contact restrictions were already tightened before the turn of the year. In addition, isolation and quarantine requirements have also been relaxed so that not too many staff are absent at the same time. Some areas are now reporting problems, others are not.
trade
In the German retail trade, the effects of the Omikron wave on sick leave have so far been limited. “The companies are not yet telling us about an increased loss of staff due to corona diseases,” said the chief executive of the German Trade Association (HDE), Stefan Genth, the dpa. But preparations have been made, vienna deputy regulations and rotation models.
logistics
So far, there have been no alarm messages from the logistics industry: There are no exceptionally high levels of sick leave,” said a spokesman for the Federal Association of Forwarding and Logistics. “The forwarding companies are now extremely experienced in dealing with the ongoing pandemic, so that despite thin staffing levels for the foreseeable future, there are no major supply-related failures to be feared for the population.”
means of transport
According to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), only the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) have restricted local transport. The number of infections is particularly high in the capital. The VDV announced on request that other transport companies with restrictions on services were not known. At Deutsche Bahn, according to union information, sick leave is now higher than usual. However, there are still no staff shortages that would lead to a restriction of train traffic. “Currently, operations are running quietly and largely smoothly,” said the group.
clinics
Less positive feedback comes from the clinics. There are currently complaints about above-average staff shortages. Almost three quarters of the hospitals report higher staff shortages in patient-related areas than is usual at this time of year, according to a survey by the German Hospital Institute of more than 240 clinics in the middle of the week. The chairman of the German Hospital Society, Gerald Gass, told the DPA: “The data suggest that the significantly higher staff absences are due to omicron infections among hospital employees.”
Every second hospital stated in the survey that due to the lack of staff it is currently not able to fully operate its beds in the general wards, almost every second says this about its intensive care units. According to the hospital company, sick leave is particularly high among nursing staff. If the number of corona infections continues to rise so rapidly, the medical organization Marburger Bund sees the clinics at their limit in just a few days. “By the beginning of February at the latest, it will be very cramped in hospitals across Germany if the number of infections continues to rise at this rate,” said Chairwoman Susanne Johna to the newspapers of the Funke media group. (DPO)