Corona incidence is increasing again – Wüst warns: “Prepare what can still happen with Covid”

Created: 03/05/2022 06:27

By: Martina Lippl

North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU).

© Marius Becker/dpa

Has the peak of the fifth corona wave in Germany passed?

The RKI again reports a slightly increasing incidence.

Wüst warns of the next wave.

All information in the news ticker.

• Epidemiologist Kekulé sees the end of the pandemic as coming

  (update from March 4, 8:25 p.m.).

• Wüst warns of a corona wave in autumn

  (update from March 4, 4:55 p.m.).

• Corona case numbers: RKI reports more than 217,000 positive corona tests on Friday.

  Proportion of omicron subtype BA.2 increases significantly

  (see first report).

• This news ticker on Corona* in Germany is continuously updated.

Corona in Germany: The vaccination rate continues to decrease

Update from March 4, 9:36 p.m .:

The newly approved vaccine Novavax has so far been less popular than hoped.

He has been vaccinated in Germany for almost a week.

So far, however, only around 13,200 doses from the US manufacturer have been administered as initial vaccinations

The overall rate of vaccination has also been steadily declining since the beginning of the year.

A total of 130,318 vaccine doses were administered on March 4th.

The majority of these (92,529) were booster vaccinations.

This emerges from the data of the RKI.

A month ago, on February 4th, there were still 317,391, shortly after the public holidays on January 12th even more than 700,000 vaccine doses.

A large proportion of these (about 560,000 doses) consisted of booster vaccinations.

Epidemiologist Kekulé sees the end of the pandemic in Germany

Update from March 4th, 8:25 p.m .:

The corona incidence in Germany is currently increasing slightly again.

But what's next for the summer?

The virologists Streeck and Drosten have different views.

Streeck thinks it is possible to lift the mask requirement for a limited time, and Drosten warns of further infections.

The epidemiologist Kekulé, on the other hand, even sees the end of the pandemic in Germany.

It's just a political decision.

Almost all corona measures in neighboring German countries fall - despite the twice as high incidence

Update from March 4th, 6.40 p.m .:

In Germany, almost all corona measures should fall by March 20th.

The situation is similar in neighboring countries.

In Belgium, the Corona Committee decided to end the pandemic emergency.

In the future, masks will only be mandatory in hospitals and on public transport, as the government announced.

Proof rules no longer apply to restaurants, bars or fitness studios.

There are no longer any restrictions on events.

From the end of next week, when entering the country, only proof of vaccination, convalescent status or corona test must be presented - travel forms, quarantine or additional tests are no longer necessary in most cases.

In Austria, almost all corona restrictions will also fall on Saturday (March 5).

There are no access restrictions, no upper limit for events and no more curfew.

Only the capital Vienna wants to maintain the 2G rule in gastronomy and an FFP2 mask requirement that applies almost everywhere.

It should also be easier to return to Germany.

Since March 3, the RKI has removed all countries that are still considered high-risk areas from the list.

Wüst warns of a possible next corona wave in autumn

Update from March 4, 4:52 p.m

.: Regardless of the Ukraine war, according to NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), the danger of the corona pandemic must not be lost sight of.

"It's time to prepare for what can still happen with Covid," said Wüst on Friday after a visit to the Düsseldorf University Hospital together with the head of the Corona crisis team in the Chancellery, Major General Carsten Breuer.

Basic protection, such as the obligation to wear masks and distance rules, must also be guaranteed in the future, said Wüst, with a view to the end of the corona protection measures planned by the federal and state governments from March 20th.

"It's clear: The next wave can roll towards us in autumn or winter.

All the experts tell us that and we have to be prepared for that,” warned Wüst.

Corona measures: loosening in the federal states has come into force

Update from March 4th, 3:56 p.m

.: New corona rules will apply from March 4th.

Clubs and discos are allowed to open again.

Here you will find an overview of the corona loosening.

Will masks be compulsory from March 20th?

Update from March 4, 2:17 p.m

.: Will the mask requirement cease to apply from March 20?

The federal and state governments have decided to abolish far-reaching corona measures.

It is still unclear what will apply to the period after March 20th.

Certain protective measures, such as distance rules and the obligation to wear masks in closed rooms and on buses and trains, should remain in place.

Corona: Mask requirement in the office should remain

Masks and distance rules should also apply to employees in open-plan offices, the factory building and other indoor areas after March 20th.

This is what the draft by Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) for the Corona Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance provides for a transitional period until May 25th.

Employers should therefore continue to offer a rapid corona test twice a week and provide the masks.

Lauterbach: Novavax vaccine "not really successful"

Corona in Germany: trend reversal or outliers?

The RKI reports a slight increase in the incidence.

© Michael Gstettenbauer/imago

Update from March 4th, 2:04 p.m

.: The Novavax vaccine boom is a long time coming*.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach admitted that the preparation could not currently be "really successfully" vaccinated.

"Of course we try, we fight for it," said the SPD politician on Thursday evening in an online discussion of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, as reported by the dpa news agency.

In the meantime, however, the "incitement" of this vaccine by opponents of vaccination on social media has progressed so far that it cannot really be placed.

The only way to make significant progress is a general obligation to vaccinate.

Karl Lauterbach called for further caution in the Corona course in spring: "We have to be vigilant."

Corona incidence is rising again - the proportion of omicron subtype BA.2 is growing significantly

First report from March 4, 2022

Berlin – The nationwide incidence on Friday was 1196.4 (previous day: 1174.1) according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

This is the second day in a row that the value has increased.

A week ago, the nationwide incidence was 1259.5 (previous month: 1349.5).

217,593 new corona infections were recorded within one day.

A week ago there were 210,743 positive corona tests.

Is this an outlier or a trend reversal?

According to the RKI, the omicron subvariant BA.2 is significantly more transferrable*.

That could be the reason.

The Institute points this out in its current weekly report (see below).

Corona in Germany: RKI reports more than 217,000 new infections

Corona case numbers: Experts believe that the number of unreported cases is high

According to experts, many corona cases are not recorded by the RKI.

Health authorities can no longer keep up with reporting.

According to the ALM laboratory association, many infections are no longer confirmed by a PCR test and therefore do not appear in the official statistics at all.

• So far, 15,481,890 people in Germany have been proven to be infected with Sars-CoV-2.

• 123,796 people died with or from Corona

• According to the RKI, around 11,898,500 are considered recovered

Hospitalization incidence increases again

The number of corona-infected patients who came to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was 6.36 (Wednesday: 6.14) according to the RKI.

Among them are many people with a positive corona test who have another main illness.

The value is not reported on weekends.

2,064 Covid patients currently have to be treated in the intensive care units in Germany.

Of these, 916 are artificially ventilated, as can be seen from the data from the DIVI intensive care register.

Since the beginning of March, the number has been slowly but steadily declining.

Intensive care physician Uwe Janssens rated the situation last week as a "stable phase" - at least in the intensive care units in Germany.

However, the doctor referred to the high number of infections, which led to a high death rate.

RKI expects the number of corona cases to continue to increase among those aged 65 and over

“In the meantime, the number of admissions with severe illnesses in the younger age groups is falling, but is still increasing in the age group of those over 80,” writes the RKI in its current Covid weekly report on Thursday evening.

The RKI appeals again via Twitter to vaccinate: "Vaccination also protects Omikron very well from a severe course, including the elderly: Please vaccinate / refresh yourself!"

Who should get an update from the booster?

The Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko) recommends a second booster vaccination for everyone over the age of 70.

Omicron wave ebbs - but very slowly

The peak of the fifth omicron wave seems to have passed in the majority of the federal states, writes the RKI in its current Covid weekly report on Thursday evening.

But: “In Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein, on the other hand, the incidences continued to rise or rose again.”

However, the RKI estimates that the omicron wave will only reach seniors: "In this age group, the peak of the wave is still to come." while the values ​​for younger people have fallen.

RKI: Omicron subtype BA.2 is increasing

According to the currently available data, the proportion of the omicron variant BA.2 is increasing.

In spot checks the week before last, the share of Omikron BA.2 was around 38 percent, after around 25 percent the week before.

"Internationally and also in Germany, it is observed that the proportion of BA.2 compared to BA.1 is growing continuously," reports the RKI.

According to the RKI, initial studies from Denmark and Great Britain indicate that the subvariant is significantly more transferrable than the omicron variant BA.1.

"Due to the easier transferability of subline BA.2, a significantly slower decrease or renewed increase in the number of cases cannot be ruled out," writes the RKI.

An important factor for the further course is how much contacts increase as part of the planned easing.