As Delta variant spreads in German schools, government intensifies herd immunity policy
The government’s “profits before lives” policy has already led to rising infection figures again in recent weeks. Now, the federal and state governments are putting the lives and health of tens of thousands more people at risk by continuing unsafe face-to-face teaching at the end of the summer holidays.
Against the backdrop of an explosive spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus throughout Europe, Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Wednesday that “outbreaks at schools must be expected.”
German teachers’ union backs in-person learning as COVID-19 deaths soar
The wave of deaths and new infections sweeping across Germany and Europe is the direct result of the policies of the federal and state governments. Businesses, schools and day care centres were kept open and the most basic safety standards disregarded to secure corporate profits. The current lockdown in Germany deliberately allows many businesses and schools to remain operational.
In enforcing these inhumane policies, the federal and state governments, consisting of a broad range of political coalitions, can rely on the close cooperation of Germany’s trade unions. The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) supported the billion-dollar bailout packages for banks and corporations back in March.