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HEALTH

‘Pandemic is in full swing now’: Germany sees spike in number of positive coronavirus tests

For the third time in a month, the number of new coronavirus infections has risen to over 2,000.

Published: 24 September 2020 16:56 CEST
'Pandemic is in full swing now': Germany sees spike in number of positive coronavirus tests
A coronavirus test being carried out in Dresden on September 17th. Photo: DPA

Germany’s health offices registered 2,143 new cases, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Thursday September 24th.

On August 22nd there were 2,034 new cases, and on Saturday September 19th the highest number of new cases (2,297) since April were registered. 

“After a temporary stabilisation of the number of cases, a further increase in transmissions in the German population is currently being observed,” said the RKI.

“The pandemic is really in full swing now,” said Charité Berlin virologist Christian Drosten on Wednesday.

Looking ahead to the autumn, he said, a much closer look at developments abroad – including other countries' curbs on public life – would be necessary.

“We must stop talking about things like (reopening) football stadiums,” he said. “That is really completely misleading.”

READ ALSO: German coronavirus situation 'could escalate like other European countries', warns virologist

Higher numbers of people testing positive

An indication that the infection situation is picking up again is the recent large number of coronavirus tests in Germany coming back positive.

According to the RKI management report, the so-called positive rate was 1.19 percent in the week from September 14th to 20th (up from 0.86 the previous week) – the highest value in more than 10 weeks.

There are also signs of a trend in the nationwide 7-day incidence: The number of new infections recorded per 100,000 inhabitants within one week was 13.2 on Wednesday, up from 11.5 a week ago.

The RKI reported that the 7-day incidence is currently very high in the states of Bavaria and Berlin, significantly higher in Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, and slightly higher than the national average in Baden-Württemberg and Bremen.

No noticeable change can be seen so far in the so-called reproduction number, or R-value for short: According to the RKI management report of Wednesday, it was 0.79 (previous day: 0.92). This means that a person with coronavirus infects on average less than one other person.

There has hardly been any change so far in the still low occupancy rate of intensive care beds. According to experts, this is partly due to the fact that a proportion of younger people – who rarely develop symptoms – have recently been infected.

More older people becoming infected

Currently, however, the number of cases in the older population is rising slightly, according to the RKI. “If more elderly people become infected again, more severe cases and deaths will occur again,” they said.

The peak in the number of new infections reported daily was more than 6,000 at the end of March, beginning of April.

READ ALSO: LATEST: Germany sees highest daily coronavirus infection toll since August

In spring, however, there had been much less testing – and the number of new infections detected is partly related to the number of tests.

According to RKI data from Thursday morning, at least 278,070 people in Germany are confirmed to have picked up the Sars-CoV-2 virus since the beginning of the outbreak.

A total of 9,428 people have died, with 19 further deaths reported within 24 hours on Thursday.

 

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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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