The number of infections with the coronavirus is increasing again. Intensive care physicians expect a similar burden on hospitals this winter as in the previous year.
Berlin – In view of the increasing cases of infection, the Corona * situation in Germany is worsening again. This winter, conditions in the intensive care units could be similar to those of a year ago, according to the President of the Intensive Care Medical Association, Gernot Marx. “We do not expect a winter that is very different from the last two,” said Marx to the newspapers of the editorial network Germany.
This time, however, Marx assumes that all patients can be fully cared for. To do this, however, operations would have to be canceled and nursing staff withdrawn from other areas.
Corona in Germany: Operations have to be canceled again for full care
At the moment, the intensive care bed occupancy “clearly follows the incidence again,” Marx continued. According to figures from the intensive care registry, there are currently almost 1,800 people in the intensive care unit and almost 4,300 patients in the normal ward, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency. At the peak of the pandemic in January 2021, more than 5,700 corona sufferers had received intensive care across Germany.
“In contrast to the previous pandemic waves, however, a higher incidence will be needed this autumn before the intensive care beds are sufficiently occupied,” said Marx. This is because more people are now vaccinated. However, the reduced number of intensive care beds worries him. The Deutsches Ärzteblatt reported in September that the number of intensive care beds had fallen from around 12,000 to around 9,000 in the past nine months. The reason for this is the great lack of staff. According to research by correctiv, the decline in intensive care beds can also be attributed to a changed way of counting the statistics.
Rising corona infection cases: intensive care physician refers to vaccination quota as the “key to success”
Marx also emphasized the importance of the corona vaccination. If the vaccination rate were to increase by ten percent, this would lead to a significantly reduced occupancy rate in intensive care beds. The vaccination quota is “the key to ending the pandemic,” he said. At the moment, 66.6 percent of the population in Germany are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The RKI also points out that the seriously ill are mainly unvaccinated and is pushing for a higher vaccination rate.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported a significant increase in the number of infections on Thursday (October 28, 2021). The nationwide seven-day incidence of new corona infections * increased on Friday (October 29, 2021) to a value of 139.2. The RKI announced this, citing data from the health authorities. The previous day the incidence was 130.2, a week ago it was 95.1. The value indicates the number of new infections per 100,000 people within seven days. Several federal states, including Hesse, are now reporting an aggravated situation in the intensive care units *. (Anna Charlotte Groos with afp) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
