For the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic, more than 100,000 new corona infections were reported within one day. The seven-day incidence also continues to rise and stands at 584.4. At the same time, discussions about how to deal with Omikron continue.
As the number of infections breaks record after record, the debate about the appropriate pandemic rules continues. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the number of new infections in the past 24 hours on Wednesday morning as 112,323. This is evident from numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 5:12 a.m. This is the first time since the pandemic began that the value has exceeded the 100,000 mark. While Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) again campaigned for compulsory vaccination, Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) saw the wave of infections as an “opportunity”.
The number of new infections has been increasing rapidly for around two weeks. The day before the number was 74,405, a week ago it was 80,430.
Corona: seven-day incidence breaks records every day
As the RKI announced on Wednesday, the seven-day incidence rose to 584.4 – also a new high. On Tuesday the value was 553.2, a week ago it was 407.5. The incidence quantifies the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over a period of seven days. It was the sixth day in a row with a new record incidence.
As the RKI further stated, 239 new deaths related to the corona virus were counted on Wednesday. The development of deaths has so far lagged behind the explosion in the number of infections.
According to the latest information from the institute, the health authorities have recorded a total of 8,186,850 cases of infection since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections go undetected. The total number of registered corona deaths in Germany rose to 116,081. The institute put the number of people in Germany who had recovered from an illness caused by the coronavirus at around 7,098,400.
Lauterbach expects the infection to peak in mid-February
In November, the federal and state governments had defined the so-called hospitalization incidence as the decisive benchmark for tightening the corona measures. This value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants are hospitalized within seven days because of a corona infection. According to the current RKI report from Tuesday, the hospitalization incidence nationwide was 3.17 (Monday: 3.14).
Federal Minister of Health Lauterbach believes that the figures from the RKI continue to underestimate the actual extent of the infection in Germany. The actual incidence is likely to be “roughly” a “factor of two” above the incidence reported by the RKI, he told the broadcaster RTL. Lauterbach did not expect the wave of infections to peak until “mid-February”.
The Minister of Health shares the opinion of experts such as the Berlin virologist Christian Drosten that at some point everyone will become infected. However, that does not mean that vaccination is unnecessary. “There is still no basic immunity, especially for the elderly and sick,” warned the minister, who therefore called for a quick decision by the Bundestag to introduce compulsory vaccination.
Kubicki: Carefree life returns later this year
The chairman of the German Hospital Society, Gerald Gass, spoke out in favor of reviewing the need for vaccination in view of the apparently less severe course of the disease in the case of an infection with the omicron variant. The Ethics Council based its vaccination recommendation on the no longer dominant, deadlier Delta variant.
“If, after weighing the scientific findings, politicians should come to the conclusion that the pandemic is over and that vaccination is therefore no longer required, then there will be a new situation,” Gass told the “Handelsblatt”. “If Corona is really only seen as a flu, then the virus must be treated as such – and there is no vaccination against the flu for medical staff.”
Until then, however, compulsory vaccination is still necessary because it protects society from major health and economic damage during the pandemic. “Even the danger of new variants has not been conclusively answered,” warned Gass.
Bundestag Vice President Kubicki was optimistic in the “Heilbronner Voice”: “We are currently experiencing with the Omicron wave that the chance of a return to pre-Corona life is greater than ever.” He believes “that we are seeing the first foothills of the endemic disease and that carefree life will return over the course of the year”. He reiterated his opposition to compulsory vaccination.
Source From: Stern
