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Revealed: These are Germany’s 47 coronavirus risk zones

The number of new Covid-19 infections are increasing in Germany. Here's where the worst affected places are.

Published: 14 October 2020 16:05 CEST
Revealed: These are Germany's 47 coronavirus risk zones
Frankfurt am Main is a hotspot in Germany. Photo: DPA

Many districts and cities are exceeding the limit of 50 infections per 100,000 residents in the last seven days. Many of the problem zones are in North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Bavaria.

Here are some of the German coronavirus hotspots labelled on a map by DPA, and the full list of affected districts is listed below.

READ ALSO: Germany reports more than 5,000 new coronavirus cases within a day

Baden-Württemberg:

Esslingen (county) with a value of 77.6

Stuttgart (city district) with a value of 69.7

Bavaria:

Berchtesgadener Land (district) with a value of 72.7

Fürstenfeldbruck (county) with a value of 62.0

Memmingen (city) with a value of 52.2

Munich (city) with a value of 52.1

Regen (county) with a value of 84.0

Rosenheim (city) with a value of 67.7

Rottal-Inn (district) with a value of 57.6

Schweinfurt (district) with a value of 52.4

Berlin:

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf with a value of 57.9

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg with a value of 79.4

Mitte with a value of 112.5

Neukölln with a value of 161.6

Reinickendorf with a value of 73.9

Spandau with a value of 67.4

Steglitz-Zehlendorf with a value of 51.0

Tempelhof-Schöneberg with a value of 93.9

Bremen:

Bremen (city) with a value of 79.3

Hesse:

Frankfurt am Main (city) with a value of 71.0

Groß-Gerau (district) with a value of 61.7

Main-Taunus-Kreis (district) with a value of 53.7

Offenbach (city) with a value of 84.4

Lower Saxony:

Cloppenburg (county) with a value of 99.0

Delmenhorst (city) with a value of 96.7

Emsland (district) with a value of 51.7

Oldenburg (county) with a value of 50.4

Vechta (county) with a value of 58.8

North Rhine-Westphalia:

Duisburg (city) with a value of 55.5

Düsseldorf (city) with a value of 55.6

Essen (city) with a value of 51.1

Hagen (city) with a value of 56.3

Hamm (city) with a value of 58.4

Herne (city) with a value of 95.2

Cologne (city) with a value of 70.4

Leverkusen (city) with a value of 67.8

Mettmann (district) with a value of 54.4

Olpe (district) with a value of 53,7

Solingen (city) with a value of 71.0

Recklinghausen (district) with a value of 70.7

Unna (district) with a value of 54.4

Wuppertal (city) with a value of 63.4

Rhineland-Palatinate:

Eifel district Bitburg-Prüm with a value of 115.1

Mainz (capital city) with a value of 56.7

Saarland:

St. Wendel (county) with a value of 97.7

Saxony:

Erzgebirgskreis with a value of 52.2

Thuringia:

Eichsfeld (county) with a value of 54.0

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state premiers on Thursday were discussing proposals which would see restrictions kick in once an area records 35 new infections per 100,000 people over seven days.

What's happening in the affected areas?

The situation is serious in Berlin, especially the districts of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (79.4), Tempelhof-Schöneberg (93.9) and Mitte (112.5). The incidence rate also remains particularly high in party area Neukölln (161.6) – which is the worst affected place in Germany.

Berlin's health senator Dilek Kalayci said she was very concerned about the development. “Slowly but surely, hospital treatments for Covid-19 patients are also increasing,” she said. “And this should be a warning to us.”

She urged for “great caution” among city residents.

EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Berlin's new coronavirus restrictions

The below map by DPA shows the total number of cases and deaths in states, as well as the whole of Germany.

The city introduced a curfew on Saturday but mayor Michael Müller has not ruled out introducing more restrictions.

North Rhine-Westphalia: 'Red' warning level in Düsseldorf and Leverkusen

Coronavirus figures in North Rhine-Westphalia have also shot up in recent days. For the long-term hotspot Hamm, the RKI says the incidence rate is 66.1 (in the last seven days per 100,000 inhabitants).

The incidence values in Herne (95.2), Wuppertal (63.4), Recklinghausen (70.7), Unna (54.4) Solingen (71.0) and Duisburg (55.5) also exceed the 50 mark.

The below screenshot from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) highlights the number of cases per 100,000 residents in seven days. The risk zones are red.

Meanwhile, Düsseldorf (55.6) and Leverkusen (67.8) have also exceeded the warning level.

At the weekend the city of Cologne exceeded the important warning level of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. Cologne has also issued restrictions in a bid to bring down the number of new cases.

Essen, with a value of 51.1, is also above the critical mark again.

Munich again hotspot in Bavaria, Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg

In Bavaria, Munich has been considered a coronavirus hotspot since Monday. On Wednesday the city had an incidence value of 52.1, as do the cities of Rosenheim (67.7) and Schweinfurt (52.4). The districts of Fürstenfeldbruck (62.0), Regen (84.0) and Memmingen (52.2) are also among the Bavarian problem zones.

The incidence value has also risen significantly in the Baden-Württemberg district of Esslingen (77.6). In this area masks are now compulsory in pedestrian zones and at weekly markets. Stuttgart is also considered a hotspot with a 69.7 incidence rate.

The district of Cloppenburg in Lower Saxony also currently exceeds the 50 threshold with 99.0.

Meanwhile, financial capital Frankfurt is also viewed as a risk zone with 71 cases per 100,000 residents. New restrictions were introduced there last week. In nearby Offenbach that number is 84.4.

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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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