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Vaccination center in Essen (archive image)
Photo: Fabian Strauch / picture alliance / dpa
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) registered
68,999 new infections
within 24 hours.
That is 16,074 fewer cases than on Friday a week ago, when 85,073 corona infections were reported.
The nationwide
seven-day incidence
falls further to
485.7
from 502.4 the previous day.
164 other people died
in connection with the virus.
This increases the number of reported deaths to 137,348.
According to data from the RKI, the omicron subvariant BA.2, which has been dominating in Germany for weeks, is still predominant, while another subtype has increased at a very low level.
According to a sample from the week before last, the proportion of BA.2 was a good 97 percent, as shown in the RKI weekly report on Thursday evening.
The subtype BA.1, which was previously responsible for most infections, is therefore still below two percent.
According to the data, the relatively newly emerged omicron sublineages BA.4 and BA.5 have played a subordinate role so far.
Nevertheless, the share of BA.5 doubled in the week before last compared to the week before to 0.6 percent.
BA.4, on the other hand, is listed unchanged at 0.1 percent.
In Germany, the genome is only completely examined in a small proportion of positive samples.
Hardly any risks to be expected for Germany
»The omicron lines BA.4 and BA.5, which are currently leading to a renewed increase in Covid-19 diseases, particularly in South Africa, have also been increasingly detected in Germany (especially BA.5) and other European countries in recent weeks« , writes the RKI.
But: Currently, one does not assume that the spread of the sublines will lead to a sharp increase in the number of cases.
In the weekly report, the authors also state that the seven-day incidence in the past week has fallen significantly compared to the previous week – namely by 21 percent.
Many hospitalization indicators and also the number of deaths have recently continued to decrease.
End of the mask requirement demanded
The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) has spoken out in favor of ending the mask requirement and closing the vaccination centers.
KBV boss Andreas Gassen justified this in an interview with the "Rheinische Post" with the high level of immunity in the population.
For most citizens, the pandemic is “over,” Gassen said.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, there are officially 25 million people who have recovered.
"In fact, there are probably two or three times as many," Gassen said.
"This gives us a high level of immunity among the population." Nationwide, there are also only 1,000 corona patients in intensive care units, almost 400 of them on ventilation.
Gassen and KBV Vice President Stephan Hofmeister therefore called for an end to the mask requirement, which is currently still in force on buses, trains and planes.
"We should leave it up to people to wear masks," said Hofmeister.
Gassen added that it was not medically necessary to wear masks on airplanes, for example.
"In airplane cabins, the air is changed every four minutes."
jok/Reuters
