DAccording to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the peak of the current corona wave has probably been reached or even exceeded. However, the further course of the pandemic still depends on whether larger parts of the population continue to behave prudently and considerately even when state-ordered measures are relaxed, writes the RKI in its weekly report on Thursday evening. The extent to which contacts increase also plays a role.
The nationwide seven-day incidence had recently fallen significantly, from 1758.4 last Saturday to 1586.4 on Friday (previous day: 1625.1; previous month: 1213.0). With a view to a weekly comparison, the RKI writes: “The peak of the wave has probably been reached, but the infection pressure remains very high with more than 1.5 million Covid 19 cases transmitted to the RKI within a week.”
The health authorities in Germany reported 252,530 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. That comes from figures from Friday. A week ago there were 296,498 infections.
When considering the values, it must be taken into account that individual states do not report data every weekday, and Baden-Württemberg and Brandenburg, for example, do not report data at the weekend. This in turn leads to late registrations on the following days. A comparison of daily values is therefore becoming increasingly difficult. In addition, experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI – due to overworked health authorities and because not all infected people have a PCR test done. Only these count in the statistics.
According to the new information, 304 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours. A week ago there were 288 deaths. The RKI has counted 21,357,039 proven 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.
Incidence in the elderly is increasing
Meanwhile, according to the report, the proportion of the omicron subtype BA.2 in a sample, which has been growing for weeks, has continued to grow: according to the most recent available data for the week before last to around 81 percent (week before: around 73 percent). The current value should therefore be even higher. The spread of BA.2 was considered a driver of the current wave. The subtype is arguably more transmissible than the previously predominant one.
The RKI continues to observe different developments in the age groups: the incidence is declining in a weekly comparison among younger people between the ages of 15 and 34, but increasing among older people between the ages of 60 and 85. There was a further increase in outbreaks in old people’s and nursing homes. In particular, the RKI called on risk groups and very old people over the age of 70 to protect themselves against a serious illness with the second booster vaccination recommended by the Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko).