Germany: Corona Infection Numbers Rise After Christmas Vacations

As expected, the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin is reporting more new Corona cases again, since the vacations ended in several federal states. Also, conspiracy theorists are back on the streets.

Berlin, January 4th, 2022 (The Berlin Spectator) — Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is still warning everyone to be cautious with interpretations of the Corona data available right now because both the reporting and the testing lagged behind during the vacations that just ended in some of Germany’s states. Also, the numbers are usually lower on Tuesdays than on other weekdays. Still, they increased today.

More than 30,000 New Cases

According to the data the RKI released this morning, the national Seven Day Incidence just jumped to 239.9 from 232.4 on Monday. The number of new infections is 30,561 today. Berlin’s Incidence is now 286.8. Yesterday, it stood at 265.1. In Germany, Thuringia still has the highest Incidence. This morning, it was 403.4. The RKI also reported 356 Corona-related deaths since yesterday. This is almost the kind of level the RKI had registered on a daily basis before the vacations.

The Christmas holidays also slowed down Germany’s vaccination campaign. Before, up to 1.5 million shots were administered per day. Last week, the best day was Tuesday, when 671,000 people were immunized. This includes first and second vaccinations as well as booster shots. At this moment, the vaccination rate stands at 71.2 percent which is still a lot lower than it should be, according to experts. Until the end of this month, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ government wants to have an additional 30 million doses of vaccine administered. This means that the daily average needs to rise substantially.

‘The Unvaccinated are the Problem’

In the meantime, the federal government is worried the Omicron wave will hit Germany now after it already led to exploding infection numbers in the United Kingdom and several of Germany’s neighbors. “The unvaccinated are the problem”, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said. Even first vaccination shots could save lives, he stressed. “Omicron leads to extremely high hospitalization numbers”, the Minister tweeted. The data from abroad had shown that admissions to ICUs would increase as well, but more slowly.

In spite of the difficult situation, Corona deniers, anti-vaxxers and other conspiracy theorists staged protests in several parts of Germany on Monday night. In Bautzen, two separate protests against the government’s anti-Corona measures and against vaccinations took place without big incidents this time. But in Lichtenstein, a town in the vicinity of Zwickau, police officers were attacked during a similar rally. One policeman was bitten by a protester. All in all, 14 officers were injured.

Corona Denier Protest in Berlin

In Berlin, several hundred conspiracy theorists staged a demonstration as well. According to German-language media, they stopped in front of a studio run by the ZDF, a TV channel regulated by public law, and accused it of spreading lies. There were more protests of this kind in Erfurt, Weimar, Nuremberg and other cities.

Looking for the daily Corona update for Germany? Find it here.
ALL CORONA CHRONOLOGIES:
Corona Chronology for Germany, 2022 (from Dec. 22nd, 2021)
Corona Chronology for Germany, 2021
Corona Chronology for Germany, 2020

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