"Violent" corona outbreak in Portugal - world medical director warns of BA.5 variant in Germany
Created: 06/01/2022, 09:21
By: Martina Lippl
The omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are causing an increase in the number of corona cases in Portugal.
A warning signal for world medical director Montgomery.
Berlin - World Medical Director Frank Ulrich Montgomery warns of the spread of the
omicron subvariant BA.5
in Germany: "Corona is not over yet - this is proven by the violent outbreak of omicron in Portugal," Montgomery told the
Rheinische Post
.
“The BA.5 variant of the virus will also spread to us.
Many, including those who have been vaccinated, will become ill.
Good to know: those who have been vaccinated have a much milder disease.
His risk of dying is 99 percent lower than that of unvaccinated people," said the President of the World Medical Association.
He therefore called for good preparation for the fall and winter.
Montgomery calls for clear corona rules for autumn and winter
"The toolbox must be defined and maintained in the Infection Protection Act: from the obligation to wear a mask to the lockdown - nationwide and clearly regulated," Montgomery demanded.
"The smarter we behave now, the fewer drastic measures we need in autumn and winter.
Wear a mask voluntarily wherever many people come together.
Vaccination, now more than ever.
And don't trade off freedom for security," Montgomery said.
RKI: The proportion of omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 is increasing in Germany
In its latest weekly report, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports an increase in the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 at a low level.
BA.2 continues to dominate with 96.4 percent.
According to the RKI, however, the proportion of BA.5 continued to increase and roughly doubled from 1.2 to 2.5 percent.
"The currently increasing trend of the Omicron lines BA.4 and BA.5, especially in South Africa and recently also in Portugal, is accompanied by an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and the positive rate," says the RKI report.
"Both lineages were also increasingly found in Germany (mainly BA.5) and other European countries."
Coronavirus variant | delta | Omicron BA.1 | Omicron BA.2 | Omicron BA.3 | Omicron BA.4 | Omicron BA.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
week 17 | 0% | 1.2% | 97.8% | 0% | 0.1% | 0.6% |
week 18 | 0% | 0.7% | 97.5% | 0% | 0.3% | 1.2% |
week 19 | 0% | 0.3% | 96.4% | 0% | 0.4% | 2.5% |
Lauterbach: "It's a rather bad development"
also read
Monkeypox in Germany: Lauterbach announces isolation – countries “take the situation seriously”
Monkeypox in Germany: Munich and Berlin affected - WHO expert explains the route of infection
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warns of the new Omikron variants via Twitter.
“The particularly contagious BA4/BA5 variant is also on the rise here.
This could be the next wave in the fall," wrote the SPD politician on Twitter.
Lauterbach shared a tweet in which a laboratory informed about the proportion of the different omicron variants in those who tested positive.
The overview refers to those tested "in the southern German catchment area in week 18 - week 21." The proportion of the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 is therefore 15.3 percent.
Corona in Germany: RKI reports an incidence of 201.7
In the past 24 hours, 61,889 new coronavirus infections and 136 deaths have been reported to the RKI.
The nationwide incidence is 201.7.
This emerges from the data from the RKI’s Covid 19 dashboard on Tuesday (as of May 31, 3:12 a.m.).
However, the values do not provide a complete picture of the infection situation.
According to the RKI, the significance of the daily reporting of the nine infections after the weekend and at the beginning of the week is severely limited.
"For the assessment of the course, the consideration of the weekly comparison is more effective," writes the RKI and refers to its weekly report, which will be published on Thursday.
657 Covid 19 patients are currently being treated in the intensive care units in Germany.
Of these, 256 must be artificially ventilated.
This emerges from the data from the DIVI intensive care register on Tuesday morning.
(ml with afp)
