The number of daily new corona infections has once again reached a record value. The incidence reaches 1349.5. Nevertheless, some politicians insist on easing. The situation at a glance.
The number of new infections every day is increasing day by day – and is currently higher than ever before. According to the RKI, the health authorities reported 248,838 new cases within one day on Friday morning. A week ago there were 190,148 new infections recorded. The RKI gave the seven-day incidence as 1349.5 – this is also a high. For comparison: the day before the value was 1283.2. A week ago, the nationwide incidence was 1073.0 (previous month: 239.9). The current figures reflect the status of the RKI dashboard on Friday morning, 5 a.m.
Experts assume that there will be a high and increasing number of cases that are not recorded in the RKI data, partly because testing capacities and health authorities are at their limits in many places. In addition, some cities and districts have been reporting problems with the transmission of the number of corona cases for days.
According to the new information, 170 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours, just as many as a week ago. The RKI has counted 10,671,602 detected infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections go undetected.
The number of corona-infected patients who came to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was 5.00 according to the RKI on Thursday (Wednesday: 4.77). These may also include people with a positive corona test who have another main illness. The RKI gave the number of recovered people on Friday morning as 7,953,200. The number of people who died from or involved a proven infection with Sars-CoV-2 rose to 118,504.
Incidence highest among children and adolescents
The number of visits to the doctor is also increasing. The RKI estimates the number at around 320,000 last week due to Corona. The RKI writes in its weekly report on Thursday evening that the values of the fourth wave are already significantly exceeded in almost all age groups. Since the turn of the year, the number of doctor visits has increased, compared to the previous week it stagnated, although late registrations are still possible.
According to RKI calculations, 0.9 to 1.8 percent of the population aged 15 and over had contracted Covid-19 with symptoms of an acute respiratory disease in the previous week. In the case of children up to the age of 15, the Institute speaks of a proportion of those affected of around 1.6 to 3.2 percent. The RKI has been presenting such calculations for around two weeks – also because laboratories and health authorities are at the limit when recording infected people and it is assumed that the reporting data is becoming increasingly incomplete.
According to the RKI, estimated values for hospital admissions of patients infected with Sars-CoV-2 “remained at a high level” and showed a continued slight upward trend (so-called adjusted hospitalization incidence). In intensive care units, there is currently no increase due to the omicron wave.
“The 7-day incidence is still highest in the group of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years”, but it has also risen significantly again in the older age groups, the RKI states. “The #Omicron wave is slowly reaching the elderly population,” the authority commented on Twitter. An increase among older people has also been feared for some time in view of a possible heavier burden on the healthcare system.
End of all measures in March?
Despite the worrying situation, the discussion about easing the corona restrictions is gaining momentum. The SPD considers it possible that the corona measures could be completely eliminated in March. “Over the next few weeks we will take our time to see whether it is even necessary to extend the corona protection measures beyond March 19,” said the parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group, Johannes Fechner, of the “Welt”. If, in mid-February, a decline in the omicron variant is actually detected, the question arises as to whether the restrictions in the spring and summer months are still necessary. Fechner thinks it is more likely that “such protective measures will only be discussed again with a view to next fall”.
The Infection Protection Act was last amended by the Bundestag and Bundesrat in December. It enables the federal and state governments to take a number of measures to contain the pandemic, including the obligation to wear masks or social distancing. The measures are currently limited to March 19, but could be extended once by up to three months by the Bundestag.
The Greens parliamentary group, on the other hand, urges caution. “We will now not be able to do without certain measures such as the obligation to wear a mask or a reduction in contacts,” said parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann of the “Welt”. The omicron wave has not yet reached its peak. Even if the course of the disease is less severe, in large numbers they lead to a noticeable burden on the clinics. Not enough is known about the distribution of the subtype BA.2, the vaccination gap is too large. “Therefore, there are no prerequisites for easing at the moment.” If the infection situation eases, you will react to it. “Then it will be about opening steps and stage models so that sectors such as culture or retail have planning security.”
Head of the panel doctor calls for relaxation plan
The head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, is already calling for an opening plan for Germany. “What we need now is a freedom plan – a plan how we can loosen up step by step and based on parameters. Formulating this freedom plan is now the most important task of politics,” Gassen told the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”. Germany must learn to live with Corona.
“Some people think that the pandemic will not be over until nobody dies from Corona. That’s a mistake: Corona will probably remain part of the disease process in the long term. With influenza we always have new variants, in some years tens of thousands of deaths. We have to also accept Corona and at the same time continue to offer vaccinations for risk groups,” Gassen continued. Specifically, the KBV boss can imagine opening the stadiums or easing trade. The health policy spokesman for the Union faction, Tino Sorge (CDU), also called on the federal government to “launch a plan for openings in February”.
Intensive care physicians, on the other hand, warn of a “roller coaster ride” in the number of infections if the restrictions are relaxed too quickly. “Loosening of the corona measures, as some federal states have now announced, comes too early,” said the President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), Gernot Marx, the newspapers of the Funke media group. It is reasonable to discuss easing steps with foresight. Concrete easing should only be decided when the peak of the omicron wave has passed. “The federal and state governments should wait until the number of infections has fallen steadily over several days. It would be fatal if we got on a roller coaster ride with the number of infections increasing again due to loosening too early.”
Does Germany have to follow suit?
Employer President Rainer Dulger called for a nationwide lifting of the 2G rule in retail. “It is unfair if one retailer has to control the 2G rule and the other doesn’t, if one retailer loses sales because of 2G and the other doesn’t,” said Dulger of the “Rheinische Post” (Friday edition). “That’s why we’re calling for a nationwide repeal,” said the President of the Confederation of Employers’ Associations (BDA). “In some federal states, the courts have already reacted to the unequal treatment and overturned the 2G rule in retail,” emphasized Dulger.
The easing in many neighboring countries of Germany such as Denmark or the Czech Republic, despite the still high number of corona infections, had also triggered a debate in Germany as to whether and which corona restrictions could be overturned. Unlike Germany, however, the number of infections there is no longer increasing as extremely as at the beginning of the year.
In the last round of federal and state governments last week, the heads of government decided to retain the previous regulations – however, some federal states such as Bavaria and Saxony then announced relaxations due to pressure from the courts, among other things. Above all, representatives of the Union and the FDP are positive about easing; The SPD and the Greens, on the other hand, urge caution.
Source: Stern
