Corona: RKI publishes weekly report - doctor visits by adults "up to three times higher than usual"
Created: 07/21/2022, 18:23
By: Anna Lorenz
Lothar Wieler (l.), President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), and Karl Lauterbach (SPD), Federal Minister of Health, at a press conference as part of the 126th German Medical Association in Bremen.
(Archive image) © picture alliance/dpa |
Sina Schuldt
The current weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on the corona situation in Germany is available.
The document published in the early evening of July 21, 2022 shows: BA.5 has Germany firmly under control.
Berlin – The latest version of the RKI's weekly report is published every Thursday.
The experts of the leading biomedical research institution of the German federal government log the development of the situation around the corona virus in Germany and evaluate the data.
In the last weekly report of July 14, 2022, a "significantly higher level for the time of year" was recorded in the number of doctor visits for acute respiratory diseases;
around 1.2 million people sought medical help because of complaints.
The current number of infections is still high, outbreaks of COVID-19 are increasingly taking place in old people's and nursing homes, it said.
The omicron subline BA.5, which has been dominating since mid-June, is dominant at 83 percent.
Current weekly report of the RKI: Numbers continue to rise - infections are in most cases Corona
According to the current report from July 21, 2022, the number of doctor visits for acute respiratory diseases remains largely unchanged, however, according to the RKI, the “adult consultation incidence” is now “up to three times higher than usual at this time of year.” The reason is the simultaneous circulation of SARS -CoV-2 and various rhinoviruses and parainfluenza viruses, "whereby SARS-CoV-2 dominates in adults."
In the video: The current corona infection numbers for Europe
Around 1 to 1.6 million people are currently suffering from respiratory problems due to Corona.
The nationwide 7-day incidence of all reported cases, in which symptoms do not necessarily have to be present, continued to increase slightly, with “mainly federal states in the middle and south of the country, and in particular the age groups from 70 years of age” being affected.
The number of corona outbreaks increased significantly in old people’s and nursing homes as well as medical treatment facilities.
However, the 7-day incidence value is highest in the younger age groups (25-49 years).
RKI weekly report: Current corona infections almost entirely due to omicron subline BA.5
87 percent of the corona infections in the 28th calendar week are caused by BA.5, the sublines BE.1.1 and BA.5.1 are each responsible for 26 percent of the current sickness figures.
However, the number of those who had to be treated in hospital because of Corona remained “relatively stable” with 3,300 new cases compared to the previous week (3,100 cases).
People over the age of 80 are the most affected.
According to the institute, the absolute number of people treated in an intensive care unit with a COVID-19 diagnosis reported in the DIVI intensive care register has continued to rise and was 1,330 cases on July 20, 2022 (previous week 1,238).
The number of deaths is also increasing in connection with the high number of infections and subsequent reports, but so far only slightly.
RKI: weekly report continues to recommend corona vaccination
"Due to its high protective effect against a severe course, vaccination has not lost its importance even in diseases caused by the omicron variant," says the RKI in the current weekly report.
The new data also showed that unvaccinated people suffering from corona suffered a severe course of the disease significantly more often.
Vulnerable groups in particular were recommended Stiko's recommendation for a second booster "against the background of high incidences due to the more widespread use of the omicron sublines BA.4 and BA.5".
Overall, the risk to the health of the population from Corona can still be classified as “high”.
(askl)
