Long under lock and key

Germans publish corona file, but censored

There is currently a critical debate in Germany about the minutes of the Robert Koch Institute from the coronavirus era (archive image).

(Bild: AFP/ANDRE PAIN)

The protocols of the Robert Koch Institute, the so-called RKI files, are currently the subject of controversial discussion online. The German institution had a coronavirus crisis team that discussed the measures in the country and shared its assessments with the German government. The minutes from January 2020 to April 2021 are now publicly available ...

Journalist Paul Schreyer had filed a lawsuit for the documents, which are more than 200 pages long in total, citing the Freedom of Information Act. They can now be accessed on the blog "Multipolar".

The Robert Koch Institute, which drew up the protocols, is based in Berlin and deals with the detection, prevention and fight against infectious diseases. In the context of coronavirus, the team's expert assessment was crucial for measures such as the lockdown. Another example is the shortening of the recovery status after a Covid-19 infection from six to three months (beginning of 2022).

Here you can see a tweet from German MEP Joana Cotar.

Contradictions between assessment and action
These and other assessments, such as risk assessments, can be found in the minutes. In some cases, there are contradictions between the recommendations and the actual actions taken. In one document, for example, there is talk of the end of herd immunity through vaccination, but at the same time vaccination was recommended, and mandatory vaccination was also discussed in the Bundestag. "(...) Now we know that even the RKI had doubts about vaccines, lockdowns and compulsory masks," commented scientist Christoph Lütge, who was a member of the Bavarian Ethics Council until 2021.

We now know that even the RKI had doubts about vaccines, lockdowns and compulsory masks.

Wissenschaftler Christoph Lütge

Redacted passages
It is also striking that an estimated thousand passages, such as certain names, were blacked out by the RKI. The lawyers of the Robert Koch Institute consider this to be appropriate and speak of "legal grounds for exclusion". However, the opposing party "Multipolar" has filed another lawsuit, and the next hearing is scheduled for May. The proceedings are said to have already cost 15,000 euros and to have been financed by donations.

The magazine's team (edited by Stefan Korinth and Paul Schreyer) argues that the coronavirus crisis is being dealt with. "The redactions go so far that even the simple participation of Health Minister Jens Spahn in a crisis team meeting is partially concealed (minutes of February 3, 2020, redaction of the first name on the list of participants), although even the ministry itself made his participation public (with photo) on Twitter at the time," they say.