Is the end of the corona pandemic near?
Expert still sees a risk of overloaded handles
Created: 03/28/2022, 21:15
According to experts, the situation in the hospitals remains tense.
(Iconic image) © Boris Roessler/ dpa
The end of the corona pandemic seems to be getting closer.
But experts continue to warn of overloaded clinics - even for the summer there is still no all-clear.
Berlin – The federal government’s corona protection measures are expiring and the state health ministers want to revise the current quarantine and isolation rules.
The end of the coronavirus pandemic seems within reach.
But the pandemic in Germany is not quite over yet: Experts continue to fear that the clinics will be overwhelmed.
End of the corona pandemic?
New Omicron variant on the rise
"The risk of overburdened clinics still exists," said physicist Dirk Brockmann in an interview with
Der Spiegel.
The problem: The Omikron subvariant BA.2 is on the rise.
The new mutant is even more contagious than its predecessor and is currently initiating the second omicron wave in Germany, according to the professor at the Institute for Biology and the Institute for Physics at the Humboldt University in Berlin.
Brockmann advocates continuing to keep an eye on the situation in the clinics.
Forward-looking action is particularly important here, because the number of people who have to go to the hospital lags behind the number of those infected by a few weeks.
"I don't buckle up in the car because I know that I'm going to have an accident in a hundred meters, but as a precautionary measure in case this happens," explains the physicist.
Corona in Germany: Situation in the clinics similar to 2020/21
It is currently important to pay attention to the situation in the clinics: According to Brockmann, the number of clinic admissions is similar to the times of the heaviest wave in 2020/21.
“The trend is rising.” The number of patients in intensive care units is also increasing again.
The utilization of the hospitals is currently about half.
However, data from the Helios clinics showed that not all Covid patients are also treated because of their illness.
If the incidences of the first omicron wave double, the hospitals could quickly reach their breaking point.
This is definitely possible with the new omicron subvariant BA.2: As the 52-year-old explains in
Der Spiegel
, the mutation is so contagious that high incidences can be reached more quickly.
Corona-free summer?
Expert does not want to give the all-clear yet
"Once we have exceeded this limit, whether in intensive care or in a normal ward, and only then take countermeasures, the overload will last for weeks," predicts Brockmann.
Another problem that the clinics then have to adjust to: If the incidence is high, more staff will be absent.
The planned easing does not seem to be entirely unproblematic.
The expert is particularly critical of the end of the mask requirement indoors.
He can therefore not yet give the all-clear for the summer: "Further development depends to a large extent on which variant is then dominant and which virus types are still emerging worldwide."
(sf)
