Germany is making small strides in the corona crisis.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff sees the state's limits with the measures almost reached.
On Friday (January 22nd), the Robert Koch Institute reported more than 17,000 new infections with the corona virus *.
RKI boss Lothar Wieler criticized the number of deaths in particular at the federal press conference.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff says with regard to the measures that the federal government will "soon have pulled out all the stops".
This news ticker on the corona situation in Germany is continuously updated.
Update from January 22nd, 1:55 p.m.:
In the opinion of Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister
Reiner Haseloff
(CDU), the federal government will soon have reached the limits of its possibilities with the
corona measures
.
“There are a manageable number of instruments with which we
can fight
the
pandemic
.
And in principle we will soon have pulled out all the stops, ”he said in an interview with
Der Spiegel
.
Apart from a
total shutdown,
there weren't many measures that could still be decreed.
He
rejects a
shutdown of the economy
and
closing the borders
.
He
does not see
Germany's isolation
as a possible means.
“We live in an open Europe.
We cannot simply disconnect like New Zealand, for example, ”said
Haseloff
.
Corona in Germany: RKI boss Wieler names clear numbers in old people's homes - and speaks of unreported numbers
Update from January 22, 11:48 a.m.:
Federal
Minister of
Health
Jens Spahn
campaigned at the federal press
conference
for understanding for the extension of the
lockdown
.
The current figures are encouraging, but still at a high level.
"It's not over yet," he clarified.
He also warned against the spread of the
virus mutation
.
Spahn said there was hope from the
vaccination campaign
.
"We are at the height of the pandemic, and at the same time we have started the way out of the pandemic".
He
does not see the
zero covid strategy
as suitable for Germany.
The RKI President
Lothar Wieler
drew particular attention to the high
number of deaths
in Germany.
“That is a depressing number, for me almost unbelievable,” he said.
He sees the currently falling number of infections as positive.
“We can't let up.” Another problem is the many
outbreaks in old people's and nursing homes
.
About
900 cases
are known, "there is probably also an
unreported number
."
Virologist
Christian Drosten
warned against loosening the measures too quickly with regard to the
mutation
.
He explained his scenario of a possible 100,000 daily infections per day *.
DIVI President
Gernot Marx also
warned against premature easing.
There is currently a clear decline in the number of
intensive care
patients.
No “Christmas and New Year's Eve peak”
can be seen in
the intensive care units
Coronavirus: According to Spahn, “Zero Covid” cannot be used in Germany
Update from January 22nd, 11.11 a.m.:
The federal press conference is over.
A summary of the most important statements will be given shortly.
Update from January 22nd, 11:07 a.m.:
Spahn explains
the difference in
vaccination rates
between the
federal states
with the fact that some federal states have already vaccinated more hospital staff, others initially only vaccinated in nursing homes.
The vaccination in
hospitals
goes much faster.
"That will balance out," assures Spahn.
Update from January 22nd, 10:55 am:
Regarding the
"Zero Covid" strategy
, Spahn explains that he finds it difficult to compare with island states such as Australia and Taiwan.
That is a "completely different starting point",
Germany
is in the middle of a continent.
"That's why I don't see zero as a permanent target as something that can work in a country like Germany with our situation and situation."
The closer the incidence
gets to
zero
, the better.
“We have to get the incidences down,” said
Wieler
.
This only works through
contact reduction
and reliable
PCR tests
.
The "public health" measures can also
control
virus mutations
.
+
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn does not see a zero Covid strategy for Germany.
© picture alliance / dpa / dpa Pool |
Michael Kappeler
Update January 22, 10:47:
The
self-test
is only possible once there is an admission says
Spahn
.
It must be ensured that a layperson also gets a correct result.
Otherwise there is a risk of incorrect test results.
“
I would also like to have the
home test
available.
But it has to be good and reliable, ”explains Spahn.
Corona in Germany: Drosten and Marx warn against easing too early
Update January 22, 10:42:
Too early
opening
could lead to a renewed
increase
in infection levels and the number of patients lead to the intensive care units, warns
Marx
clear.
The number of intensive care patients in the second wave was about twice as high as in the first wave in spring.
Update from January 22, 10:38 a.m.: When asked,
Drosten explains his forecast of the possible 100,000 new infections
every
day.
"This is a
scenario
, not a calculation," said the virologist.
You have to realize that you could "run into" something like that.
Should the risk groups be
protected
by the
vaccination
in a few weeks
, calls for
relaxation
would certainly
come.
Such a scenario is then quite possible.
“We shouldn't be too careless,” said
Drosten
.
Corona in Germany: positive trend recognizable in intensive care units
Update from January 22nd, 10:28 am:
"We ca
n't
see
a Christmas or New Year's Eve peak
," says DIVI President
Marx
.
He praises the population for it.
Overall, a
positive trend
can
be seen in the intensive care units
.
The numbers would drop significantly.
“But one cannot speak of relaxation just yet”.
The number of infections must therefore be further reduced and measures must be observed.
"A
spread of the mutation
leads to intensive care medicine being utilized," says Marx.
He draws attention to the fact that the staff in the intensive care units is heavily stressed.
Corona in Germany: Drosten informs about the Corona mutation
Update from January 22nd, 10:23 am:
For the control of this mutant, the extension and tightening of the
corona measures are
correct and important.
How much the mutation will spread cannot be definitively predicted, said
Drosten
.
The numbers mentioned are not "statistically representative".
You have to be patient until that is possible.
Update from January 22nd, 10:20 am:
Virologist
Christian Drosten
first gives information about
sequencing
.
The mutant from Great Britain was initially discovered by an abnormality in PCR tests and then confirmed by sequencing.
According to the latest findings, the virus variant provides an additional infectivity of
22 to 35 percent
on the R value.
“Some of what I can tell here is only anecdotal,”
explains Drosten
.
The
mutation
was
"brought in" by
tourist traffic over the
Christmas holidays
- not only from Great Britain, but also from other neighboring countries.
+
Virologist Christian Drosten at the federal press conference on the current corona situation in Germany.
© picture alliance / dpa / Reuters Pool |
Fabrizio Bensch
Corona in Germany: Wieler appeals to compliance with the measures
Update from January 22nd, 10.13 a.m.:
RKI boss
Wieler
takes the floor.
The number of
infections
in Germany is falling slightly, he reports.
The RKI dashboard is slowly becoming brighter.
"Unfortunately we still see a lot of
outbreaks in old people's and nursing homes,
" Wieler clarifies.
About 900 cases are known, "there is probably also an unreported number."
He draws
attention
to the
death
toll, which continues to be far too high.
"It is an oppressive, for me almost unbelievable number," said
Wieler
about the 50,000 corona deaths in Germany, which have now exceeded.
It is therefore important to
continue to adhere
to the
measures
.
"We can only return to normal everyday life if we reduce the number of cases and keep them permanently low," said the RKI boss.
He appeals for vaccination and compliance with the measures.
"Let's not give the coronavirus a chance."
Corona in Germany: Spahn wants to "minimize the spread of the mutation as much as possible"
Update from January 22nd, 10:08 am:
"We want to
minimize
the
spread of the corona mutation
as much as possible," said Spahn.
Therefore, easing the
lockdown is
currently not an option.
New measures, such as the introduction of the medical mask requirement, are therefore necessary.
Spahn explains that there is hope through the
vaccination campaign
.
“We are at the height of the pandemic, and at the same time we have begun the way out of the pandemic.
The
approval
of AstraZeneca's vaccine is also foreseeable.
"Take part, let's not let up now," appeals
Spahn
.
He promised that an offer could be made to every resident in the homes by mid-February.
Update from January 22nd, 10:05 am:
“The numbers are encouraging, they are developing in the right direction,”
Spahn
clarifies.
But they are still at too high a level.
The aim is to
further reduce
the number of
infections
in order to relieve the health authorities and especially the hospitals.
Too early
loosening
could lead to an inflamation of the situation, that has been seen in many European countries.
Corona in Germany: PK with Spahn, Wieler and Drosten on the current situation
Update from January 22nd, 10 a.m .:
The
federal press conference
on the current situation in the
corona lockdown
begins.
Health Minister Spahn takes the floor first.
First of all, he recalls the beginnings of the pandemic last year and the consequences so far.
“It's not over yet,” he explains.
+
RKI boss Lothar Wieler, Health Minister Jens Spahn and virologist Christian Drosten speak at a press conference on the current corona situation in Germany.
© imago images / photothek / Janine Schmitz
Update from January 22nd, 9.55 a.m .:
In a federal press
conference
from 10 a.m., Federal Health Minister
Jens Spahn
(CDU), RKI boss
Lothar Wieler
, virologist
Christian Drosten
and
Gernot Marx
, President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI ), on the current situation in the corona lockdown in Germany.
Corona in Germany: RKI reports 17,862 new infections - 859 new deaths
Update from January 22, 6:49 a.m.:
In Germany,
more than 50,000 people have died
in connection with the
coronavirus
since the beginning of the pandemic
.
The German health authorities reported
859 new deaths to
the Robert Koch Institute (RKI)
within 24 hours, as the RKI announced on Friday morning.
This brought the total number of deaths to
50,642
.
Exactly one week ago, 1113 new deaths were recorded within 24 hours.
The
high
of 1,244 new deaths was reached on January 14th.
The health authorities also reported
17,862 new corona infections
to
the RKI
within one day.
Exactly one week ago, the RKI had recorded 22,368 new infections.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the RKI has counted 2,106,262 detected infections with Sars-CoV-2 in Germany (as of January 22, 00:00).
The actual
total number
is likely to be significantly higher as many infections are not detected.
The RKI stated the number of people recovered to be around 1,780,200.
The
seven-day incidence
was 115.3 on Friday morning, according to the RKI.
Its previous high was reached on December 22nd at 197.6.
The number fluctuated after that and has been falling again for a few days.
However, the differences between the federal states remain large:
Thuringia has the
highest incidences
with 218.4 and Brandenburg with 194.4.
Bremen has the lowest value with 80.9.
The nationwide seven-day R-value was 0.93 (previous day: 0.87) according to the RKI situation report from Thursday evening.
Coronavirus in Germany: R value still below 1 - RKI nevertheless urges caution
Update from January 21, 8:41 p.m
.: The number of
reproductions
in Germany has risen slightly again.
As can be seen from the current management report of the Robert Koch Institute on Thursday evening, the four-day R 0.84 (previous day: 0.79) and the seven-day R 0.93 (previous day: 0.87).
However, since the number of
reproductions
is still below 1, the infection rate levels off further.
In the first rudiments, this is also noticeable in the older population group.
After the RKI reported a
seven-day incidence
of 268 cases per 100,000 inhabitants
for the population 80+ on Wednesday
(
see first report
), there are now 259.
Despite this slight tendency towards improvement, the
RKI
warns
not to underestimate
the risk of the
coronavirus
.
Because "a high number of transmissions in the population in Germany can still be observed".
The institute therefore rates “the overall health risk in Germany as very high”.
Corona in Germany: Numbers give quiet hope - but the incidence among old people remains drastic
First report from January 21
: Berlin - Politicians
recently extended
the measures to contain the
corona
virus again.
Germany will be in
lockdown
*
until at least mid-February
.
Virus mutations such as those from
Great Britain
are of particular concern
, which, according to initial scientific findings, do not necessarily lead to worse disease courses, but are probably more contagious *.
Corona in Germany: concern about virus mutation - situation in Ireland and Portugal precarious
Therefore, keeping the number of cases low is currently the top priority for the Federal Government, as Chancellor
Angela Merkel
* emphasized again on Thursday morning (January 21).
If the numbers are low, then the virus “doesn't think so much” about the
mutation
, said the CDU politician *.
The simple calculation: the more spread the virus is, the more likely it is for
mutations
.
In this context, the Chancellor repeatedly refers to the threatening situation in
Ireland
, where the
virus mutation
is spreading ever further and 1,191 cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been registered in the last 14 days **.
The situation is currently even more tense in
Portugal
(14-day incidence of 1320), where 20 percent of new infections are due to a
mutation
.
The corona cases in the country with ten million inhabitants recently reached a record high of 14,600.
The unstable health system threatens to collapse.
+
Employees of the Curry Cabral Hospital in Lisbon transport a Covid-19 patient on a stretcher.
As a result of the strongly increasing corona numbers, the situation in hospitals is becoming increasingly tense.
© Pedro Fiuza / XinHua / dpa
Ireland
and
Portugal
serve as warning examples for the Federal Republic.
That is why the Chancellor never tires of pointing out the virus mutation.
However, there is currently hope in Germany.
Corona in Germany: the number of infections remains high - but the decline is clearly evident
In terms of the number of infections, there have recently been positive developments.
With
20,398 new infections reported
by the
Robert Koch Institute
*, the situation is still precarious, but there are signs of a clear decline.
Compared to the previous week, almost 19 percent fewer cases were reported, the
seven-day incidence has
decreased for the tenth day in a row and at 119.0 it has reached its lowest level since November 1.
So Germany is making progress on the way out of the crisis.
This can also be seen when looking at the respective federal states.
With
Thuringia
and
Brandenburg
only two federal states rank above the 200 mark.
The situation is currently most relaxed in
Hamburg
,
Bremen
,
Schleswig-Holstein
and
Lower Saxony
.
In
Baden-Württemberg
,
too
, the incidence is back in double digits after weeks.
state |
7-day incidence according to RKI (as of January 21, 12 a.m.) |
---|---|
Thuringia |
225 cases per 100,000 population |
Brandenburg |
203 |
Saxony-Anhalt |
195 |
Saxony |
186 |
Berlin |
120 |
Bavaria |
120 |
Hesse |
120 |
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania |
113 |
North Rhine-Westphalia |
111 |
Saarland |
109 |
Rhineland-Palatinate |
101 |
Baden-Württemberg |
99 |
Lower Saxony |
90 |
Schleswig-Holstein |
89 |
Bremen |
86 |
Hamburg |
83 |
Corona in Germany: R value well below 1 - "that shows that it is worth the effort"
The development of the
reproductive number also
gives reason for hope
. * If the so-called R value is below 1 for a long time, the infection rate flattens out.
The
four-day R
is currently
0.79 and the 7-day R is 0.87.
According to
Merkel
, the
decline in the number of infections shows
“that the tough cuts that people in Germany have had to take for weeks are beginning to pay off.
And it basically shows that the effort is worth it. "
Despite all the reasons for cautious optimism, the Chancellor warned on Thursday against
underestimating
the
corona crisis
.
If you do not act now, there is a risk of a third, possibly even more violent pandemic wave.
But: "We can still prevent that," said
Merkel
: "There is still some time to prevent the danger that lies in this mutated virus."
+
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) speaks at a press conference on the current situation in the house of the Federal Press Conference.
© Michael Kappeler / dpa
Corona in Germany: incidence of 268 - threatening situation in the elderly
So while the current numbers are definitely positive, even if they are of course only a snapshot, other developments are of concern.
The virus is currently rampant, especially among the older population belonging to the risk group.
On Wednesday evening, the
RKI
reported
an
incidence
of 95 cases per 100,000 inhabitants
for people between 60 and 79 years,
i.e.
less than the German average.
For the population group 80+, however, the situation looks much more dramatic.
The incidence here is currently at a high 268. This number is also due to the increase in cases in old people's and nursing homes, as stated in the RKI situation report on Wednesday.
Merkel
knows that too, and she
can understand the population's frustration with the restrictions, because “it's a difficult time”.
As before, there is nothing to gloss over.
(as) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network
** Source: World Health Organization, as of January 20, 10 a.m .: The WHO gives the incidence over a period of two weeks, which is why there are sometimes significant differences with the local information, which is usually viewed within a week can. Germany ranks 26th in a European comparison. The full list can be found here.
List of rubric lists: © Michael Kappeler