Omicron, the latest Coronavirus variant, is still pushing up the infection numbers to unprecedented levels. Yet again, Germany registered the highest ones ever. Now, the number of hospitalizations is rising again too.
Berlin, January 21st, 2022 (The Berlin Spectator) — For three consecutive days, Germany has registered record numbers of new Coronavirus infections per day, and for seven days in a row, its Robert Koch Institute has reported record Seven Day Incidence levels. Today, there are 140,160 new Corona cases, more than ever, and the Incidence rose to 706.3. In the past seven days, 587,322 Germans and residents of other nationalities caught the virus. Experts had expected extremely high infection numbers. The Omicron mutation, which is causing them, started spreading in other European countries first.
Five Hotspots in Berlin
In two northern city states, namely Bremen and Hamburg, as well as in Berlin, the situation is more than problematic. All three cities have Incidences above 1,200. Five of Berlin’s districts are Germany’s Corona hotpots. They are Mitte (2,200.1), Neukölln (1,592.1), Spandau (1,590.8), Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (1,586.3) and Pankow (1,537.2). No city or county in Germany has higher Incidences.
Things look bad in Potsdam, Brandenburg’s capital, as well. And they do in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, München, Bonn, Solingen and Frankfurt am Main. All of Germany is affected by the Omicron wave. Out of 412 counties, the one with the lowest Incidence is Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony. But even there, the level is 149.7, which is a level that used to be considered very high. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach expects the numbers to keep on increasing until mid-February.
More Patients at Corona Wards
Because Omicron generally causes milder COVID-19 disease progressions, the hospitalization numbers had decreased in the past weeks. This trend might be changing, as the Hospitalization Incidence rose from 3.3 to 3.5. Now, the number of Corona patients in Germany’s intensive care units keeps on dropping. On Thursday, it stood at 2,447, according to the ‘DIVI Intensivregister’. Yesterday, it had been 2,571. But, the German Hospital Federation (DKG) sees the opposite trend in regular hospital wards.
Gerald Gass (German spelling: Gaß), the DKG’s chairman, told the ‘Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland’, the latest numbers from regions affected most by the Omicron wave showed that the strain at Corona wards was increasing substantially. Gass demanded clarity in regard to compulsory Corona vaccinations Germany has been discussing for weeks. The federal government wants to put a rule of this kind in place in the coming months. The Bundestag and the Bundesrat will have to pass a law amendment first.
‘Corona Conference’ in Monday
On Monday, another ‘Corona conference’ with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the First Ministers from Germany’s federal states is scheduled to take place. At this stage, it is unclear whether new Corona rules will be put in place. There already are contact restrictions. Only vaccinated persons, and those who recently recovered from COVID-19, may enter restaurants and similar places, if they show negative Corona tests in addition. ‘Boostered’ persons do not need tests.
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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[…] again, Germany registers its highest number of new infections ever. For the first time, more than 140,000 Corona infections were registered within 24 hours. The […]