Corona incidence in Lower Saxony reaches a new record

Created: 01/17/2022 13:03

By: Johannes Nuss

While the infection numbers in Germany and Lower Saxony, top virologist Christian Drosten is optimistic about the future.

If older people and patients at risk receive a fourth vaccination, the pandemic could be over next winter.

(kreiszeitung.de assembly) © Jörg Carstensen/dpa & Sven Hoppe/dpa

While the corona incidence in Lower Saxony continues to skyrocket, top virologist Christian Drosten believes the pandemic will end in 2022 - on one condition.

Hanover – The corona numbers in Germany and Lower Saxony continue to skyrocket.

Until autumn it was still the delta variant of the corona virus, but it is now the omicron variant that determines the course of the pandemic.

In the meantime, the number of infections is so high that politicians in Hanover have extended the so-called hibernation until February, which, among other things, results in stricter corona rules in Lower Saxony and also that gastronomy in Lower Saxony continues to suffer from corona.

Corona in Lower Saxony: Current incidence seals the next record value

On Monday morning, January 17, 2022, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported a 7-day incidence for all of Lower Saxony with a value of 431.0 (previous day: 417.1).

This number indicates how many people have been infected with Covid-19 in the past seven days - calculated down to 100,000 inhabitants.

The urban district of Delmenhorst still has the highest incidence in Lower Saxony with 1249 (previous day: 1248), the lowest level was recorded on Monday morning in the district of Wittmund with a value of 193.4.

In the district of Verden, the value on Monday morning was 846.8.

Corona in Lower Saxony: Urban district of Delmenhorst with an incidence of 1249 continues to be the leader in the state

For all of Germany, the incidence on Monday morning, January 17, 2022, was 528.2 (previous day: 515.7).

The district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin currently has the highest incidence in all of Germany.

Here the incidence on Monday morning was 1596.3.

In the smallest state of Bremen, the 7-day incidence of more than 1400 is well above the corona numbers in Lower Saxony.

This corresponds to 2582 new infections in Lower Saxony with the corona virus.

This means that 34,498 people across the country have been infected with Covid-19 within the past seven days.

In the meantime, more than half a million of around eight million people in Lower Saxony have been infected with the virus at least once.

There was no new death in Lower Saxony on Monday morning

Meanwhile, there is some relaxation in the occupancy of intensive care units across the country.

While on Sunday, January 16, 2022, an average of 6.3 percent of the beds across the country were still occupied by corona patients, the value fell to 5.5 on Monday.

The hospitalization incidence, on the other hand, rose slightly from 4.8 to 4.9.

Corona in Germany: when will the corona pandemic be over?

So while the corona virus continues to rage with the omicron variant in Germany, Germany's top virologist and head of virology at the Berlin Charité, Christian Drosten, is unusually optimistic about the end of the corona pandemic *. In his estimation, the pandemic could be over by 2022. As he told the Tagesspiegel, which appears in Berlin, he was “completely sure” that life would then go back to how it was before the pandemic. According to Drosten, the endemic phase could be reached next winter.

As Drosten explained in the interview, he was already aware in January 2020 that the corona virus or Sars-CoV-2 was a really serious virus.

However, he was not quite aware - just like many of his colleagues - how contagious the virus would be.

In this context, he also praised the Chinese government, which would have reacted exactly right with the early and hard lockdown.

Corona in Germany: Top virologist Christian Drosten sees the omicron variant as an opportunity for the end of the pandemic

Despite the high number of infections, Drosten sees the omicron variant of the corona virus as an “opportunity”.

If earlier variants such as Alpha or Delta would have adapted better to humans, this is not necessarily the case with Omikron, it is an immune escape variant.

"This is a reaction to the developing population immunity," said the top virologist to the daily mirror.

This is one of the conditions for getting the pandemic under control.

But, even if the right steps have now been taken and the vaccinations are driving population immunity, Drosten believes that a fourth vaccination against an infection with Covid-19 is urgently needed.

According to current knowledge, the course of the omicron variant is rather mild, but this effect would be negated by the high infection rates.

In order to deal with this effect and to achieve population immunity, Drosten is calling for this fourth vaccination.

Above all, older and vulnerable people should be boosted again shortly after reaching the endemic phase.

Vaccinations against the corona virus: Fourth vaccination necessary for those who have previously been ill and those at risk

In order to reach this endemic phase, the vaccination must be adjusted, according to Drosten.

The virologist also said that there would very likely have to be “an adapted vaccination” and that “possibly from the second quarter large parts of the population, maybe even all of them, will have to be injected again with an update vaccination against Omicron*”.

This is because the third vaccination or booster vaccination will not be sufficient against Omikron in the long term.

This would ensure broader vaccination protection against both types of coronavirus, i.e. against omicron and against all other types.

Christian Drosten emphasizes: "We need these two immunities." * kreiszeitung.de and merkur.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.