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Number of positive tests increased (archive image)
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the seven-day incidence in Germany has reached 100 for the first time since mid-May.
On the dashboard of the RKI, the value calculated from the new infections per 100,000 inhabitants was exactly 100.0 on Saturday morning.
For comparison: the previous day the incidence was 95.1, a week ago it was 70.8.
The health authorities in Germany reported 15,145 new corona infections to the RKI within one day.
A week ago there were 10,949 new infections.
According to the new information, 86 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours.
A week earlier there had been 75 deaths.
Real numbers are likely to be even higher
The number of new infections reflects the number of positively reported corona cases from the previous day.
A few days can pass between the notification by the doctors and laboratories to the health authorities and the transmission of the cases to the responsible state authorities and the RKI.
Every day the RKI receives new cases that were reported to the health department on the same day or on earlier days.
These late registrations will then be corrected again afterwards.
Due to the delay in reporting, the latest figures are incomplete and usually somewhat higher.
In addition, patients often do not get tested until a few days after the onset of symptoms.
The illness date is therefore a few days before the reporting date.
Nevertheless, a trend can be read from the values.
The seven-day incidence serves as a reference point for assessing the dynamics of the infection process.
However, it is no longer the sole benchmark for tightening corona measures.
A value that has become more important for political decisions is the number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days. The RKI gave this so-called hospitalization rate on Friday as 2.68 (Thursday 2.45). With the indicator it must be taken into account that hospital admissions are sometimes reported with delay. A nationwide threshold value from when the situation can be viewed critically is not provided for the hospitalization rate, among other things because of large regional differences. The previous high was around 15.5 last year around Christmas time.
The RKI dashboard shows that the south and east of Germany are currently hardest hit.
In the district of Mühldorf am Inn near Munich, the incidence was around 500. It should be noted, however, that individual outbreaks can mathematically lead to high incidences, especially in regions with few inhabitants.
In its current weekly report, the RKI writes that the incidences are still very high, especially in the group of 10 to 14-year-olds.
Accordingly, the value in this age group nationwide was over 170. This is mainly due to the fact that the vaccination rate in this age group is lower than in the general population.
In addition, no vaccine has yet been approved for children under 12.
In the over 90 age group, the incidence rose to over 50 for the first time that week.
It is to be expected that the rise in the number of cases will accelerate in the further course of autumn and winter, according to the RKI report.
The number of new infections this year is significantly higher than last year at the same time.
The value of new infections on October 23, 2020 was 6582.
kry / dpa