From mid-February, the Robert Koch Institute recorded a slow decline in the nationwide 7-day incidence. Now it’s going in the other direction again, the numbers have been rising for about a week.
Berlin – In 10 out of 16 federal states, the 7-day incidence of new corona infections has increased in the past week. This emerges from the weekly report of the Robert Koch Institute.
Nationwide, the incidence increased by two percent between the week before last and the last week. The reason for the current increase in Covid-19 cases is probably the easier transferability of the omicron subtype BA.2 and the withdrawal of contact-reducing measures. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and RKI President Lothar Wieler want to explain the situation on Friday.
“The further course of the pandemic depends to a large extent on how the behavior of the population changes and to what extent possible infection-relevant contacts increase,” says the weekly report. A further increase in the number of cases cannot be ruled out.
The RKI reported a record number of new corona infections on Thursday: the authority had registered 262,752 cases within 24 hours and thus more than 250,000 new infections recorded in one day for the first time. The nationwide 7-day incidence had climbed to 1388.5. According to the weekly report, the highest incidences are still recorded in the group of 5 to 24 year olds. The last time it was there was around 2,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 7 days. In people aged 65 and over, the 7-day incidence stagnated in the previous week.
Lauterbach calls for vaccinations
In view of the increasing number of infections, Lauterbach again called for more vaccinations on Thursday. The gap is so large that “without a significant improvement in vaccination willingness and vaccination rates, we will have significant problems again in the fall,” said the SPD politician in Berlin. If the growing omicron wave is not controlled, there would be 200 to 300 deaths every day for many weeks. “We can’t put up with that.”
According to the weekly report, the proportion of the more easily transmissible omicron subtype BA.2 in a sample rose to 48 percent by the end of February. The week before, the figure was still 38 percent. In a population with high levels of immunity – through vaccination or infection – BA.2 does not cause more severe disease than the original omicron subtype BA.1. dpa
