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NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA

Coronavirus: Number of cases in Germany doubles to 129

The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in Germany jumped sharply to 129 on Sunday, official data showed, as the interior minister said he expected a vaccine by the end of the year.

Published: 1 March 2020 16:51 CET
Coronavirus: Number of cases in Germany doubles to 129
The Maria Hilf hospital in Mönchengladbach in North Rhine-Westphalia. where a doctor worked who was later found to have been infected with the virus. Photo: Jana Bauch/dpa
The latest tally given by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's centre for disease control and prevention, showed that the number of cases had almost doubled from 66 on Saturday morning.
   
More than half are in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state where an infected couple attended carnival celebrations.
   
The deadly virus has now reached nine of Germany's 16 states, with Frankfurt, Hamburg and Bremen among the cities reporting their first COVID-19 cases.
   
Speaking to the mass-daily Bild am Sonntag, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said he did not see a swift end to the virus's spread but was optimistic a cure could be found.
   
“I estimate that a vaccine will be available by the end of year,” he said, adding that he himself had stopped shaking people's hands.   
 
Asked whether Germany would go so far as to close off access to cities or regions, he said “such a scenario would be a last resort”.
   
The state of Bavaria announced four new cases on Sunday, including an employee at machine tool manufacturer DMG Mori.
   
The company has asked its 1,600 employees not to come to work on Monday.
   
Several hundred people meanwhile were released from quarantine in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, allowing them to leave their homes again.
   
The cluster there has been linked to a carnival gathering on February 15. Four kindergarten children in Heinsberg also tested positive for the new coronavirus at the weekend, apparently contracted through a member of staff.
 
Organisers of the Leipzig book fair however said the event, which attracted over 280,000 people last year, would go ahead as planned from March 12-15.   
 
Germany has cancelled several major events in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, including this week's ITB travel trade fair in Berlin.
   
The Michelin Guide restaurant star rating awards slated to take place in Hamburg on Tuesday have also been called off.
   
As the coronavirus continues to disrupt air travel and supply chains around the world, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said the government stood ready to stimulate Germany's export-driven economy if the impact worsened.
   
“If the situation calls for it, we have the means to launch a fiscal stimulus package,” he told Die Welt newspaper.

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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