Germany has registered this Wednesday the highest number of covid-19 infections since last May 9. In total, the Robert Koch Institute indicates that 1,266 new positives and six deaths have been reported since Tuesday. The infections have been increasing since the end of July and the rebound occurs at the beginning of the school year. It also coincides with the return of vacationers from abroad. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called the situation "worrying".
In addition, on Tuesday night, the German Foreign Ministry added the Community of Madrid and the Basque Country to the list of risk areas to which Berlin advises against traveling due to the high number of infections. Catalonia, Aragon and Navarra had previously been included in the list of risk areas. Anyone entering Germany from any of these regions must undergo a mandatory diagnostic test since last Saturday, which is offered free of charge at airports and other entry points. Anyone who refuses to take the test may be fined up to 25,000 euros.
Germany has so far been considered an example of good management in the face of the pandemic, with a relatively low mortality rate associated with the virus, without the health services having been saturated at any time and with a stabilized number of infections. The Health Minister said in statements to German radio that among the reasons for the rebound are celebrations of all kinds, including family reunions, along with the return of travelers from other countries. Kosovo, Turkey and Croatia are some of the countries that the Robert Koch Institute identifies as the origin of part of the infections detected in Germany.
Unlike the rise in positives registered before the summer, now it is not a question of localized outbreaks, but of infections spread throughout almost the entire country, which is of more concern to experts. This was recalled on Monday by the Government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, who assured that the Executive "is concerned about the evolution of the figures." The authorities indicated that for the moment the rebound has not caused a congestion of health or tracking services, but warned citizens that the situation could escape control if rules such as maintaining physical distance or the use of mask in closed places.
Back to school
Since last week, German schools have been opening their doors. It was the city-state of Berlin on Monday and this Wednesday the students from North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous in the country, returned to the classrooms. Each Land and ultimately each school decides the concrete measures to apply. Thus, there are States in which the mask is mandatory in class, while in others such as Berlin, students should only wear it in common areas such as corridors or to go to the bathroom. At least three schools have already had to close after positive cases were detected.
In the last seven days the number of registered cases totals 5,853. The total number of positives since the beginning of the epidemic amounts to 218,519 and the number of deaths amounts to 9,207, according to data from the German institute. You have to go back to May 9 to find a day with as many infections as this Wednesday. That day, the official number of infections amounted to 1,251, while the highest peak was registered in April, with more than 6,000 cases.
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