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Test station in Munich: The numbers from today and April are not comparable - nevertheless, experts urge caution
Photo: Matthias Schrader / AP
The number of new infections with the coronavirus in Germany has reached the highest daily value since April.
Within one day, the health authorities in Germany reported 2507 new corona infections, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Saturday morning.
On Friday, the number of newly reported corona cases was 2153.
The number of nine daily infections is only a value for estimating the development of the pandemic.
It is also crucial how high the proportion of positive tests is and how busy the hospitals are.
The previous high point with more than 6000 new infections reported was reached at the end of March and beginning of April.
After that, the number fell and rose again in July.
"We have to do a few things so it doesn't get worse"
Recently, the daily values for the reported new infections had repeatedly reached new highs compared to April.
However, the numbers for today and April are hardly comparable because the test capacities have increased.
In addition, there are fluctuations in the number of new infections over the course of the week because the health authorities report significantly fewer cases on the weekend.
Nevertheless, researchers urge caution.
"We are now on the rise again," said virologist Christian Drosten in the middle of last week.
While the increasing number of cases in August were mainly due to returning travelers, more people in Germany were now infected.
It is also expected that the number of infections will increase in the fall when more people are inside.
"Autumn and winter can bring worry lines on your forehead," said Frankfurt virologist Martin Stürmer of "Hessenschau".
"We still have a moderate increase. But we have to do a lot so that it doesn't get worse."
Currently there is the problem that a lot of young people get infected, not least while partying.
"Sooner or later the virus will be carried back into the older population. And then we have a very big problem," warns Stürmer.
The fact that the number of deaths is not increasing at the same rate as the number of infected people is "a deceptive sign".
Stürmer suggests that the number of participants at private celebrations should be more limited.
"The number of deaths will continue to rise in the coming weeks"
The districts are also calling for a nationwide upper limit for private celebrations of fewer than 50 people to be set at the upcoming meeting of the federal and state governments in the coming week.
So far, the federal states have decided on maximum limits.
There are already the first signs that older people are also more likely to be infected.
In the past few days, the number of deaths reported by the RKI in connection with a corona infection was several times in a row in the double-digit range.
"The number of deaths will continue to rise in the coming weeks," said the President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Uwe Janssens, the newspapers of the Funke media group.
The currently increasing number of Covid 19 deaths reflects the increasing number of infections over the past few weeks.
It usually takes ten to 14 days from the initial infection to a serious illness, and the average time in the intensive care unit is 21 to 24 days.
It follows that many people who are now dying were infected more than five weeks ago.
However, Janssens does not anticipate a dramatic development as in the spring: "The intensive care physicians today know much more about successful treatment options and can intervene more specifically with medication."
In addition, those responsible had learned to better protect particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the sick.
Janssens emphasized that the balance of the pandemic did not only include immediate deaths.
"In addition to the people who die from and with the corona virus, we must not forget those who continue to die because they do not dare to go into practices and clinics for fear of infection."
The total number of indirect deaths will only be quantified years later, when all the long-term consequences of the pandemic can be estimated.
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koe / dpa
