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Germany reports almost 3,200 Omicron cases

Health experts say nearly 3,200 Omicron cases of Covid-19 have been detected so far in Germany, as well as one death.

Published: 23 December 2021 16:41 CET

People walk in Gießen, Hesse.

People walk in Gießen, Hesse. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Rumpenhorst

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said 810 Covid-19 infections with the Omicron strain were registered from Tuesday to Wednesday alone.

Of the 3198 total cases, 48 people were treated in the hospital.

According to the RKI report, Omicron infections occur most frequently in the 15-34 age group, with almost 1,500 cases, and in the 34-59 age group, where 1,050 infections have been reported so far.

Health authorities have also reported one known death of a person who contracted a Covid infection with the Omicron variant. The person who died was aged between 60 and 79.

The first Omicron case was reported in Germany in the week of November 15th.

Looking at the federal states, most Omicron cases – around 1,108 – have been detected in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

This is followed by Bavaria with almost 600 cases and Hamburg with around 460 Omicron-strain infections. Just two cases have been recorded so far in Saarland. Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are also still in the single digits with five and six cases respectively.

The German government is trying to push booster vaccinations to try and slow the spread of Omicron in Germany, and make sure people have more protection.

According to RKI figures, 70.5 percent of the population nationwide has been fully vaccinated so far and 33.8 percent have received the booster jab.

On Wednesday alone, more than one million people nationwide received a vaccination against Covid-19.

READ ALSO: Fourth Covid jab likely needed against Omicron, says Health Minister

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German schools and kitas warn of closures amid staff sickness wave

With temperatures dropping and Covid and flu infections spiking, experts are warning that the shortage of staff in schools and Kitas around Germany is becoming increasingly hard to manage.

According to Edgar Bohn, the chairman of the primary schools association, parents could find themselves left without childcare at short notice this winter if local schools have to close their doors due to too many staff absences.

“The staffing situation in many primary schools in the country is on the brink and in some cases is below the calculated staffing requirement,” Bohn told RND. “I cannot and do not want to imagine complete school closures, but they could certainly be the result in some cases.”

READ ALSO: Reader question: Can I take sick leave in Germany without visiting a doctor?

Bohn’s warnings were echoed by Waltraud Weegmann, the head of the German Daycare Association, who reported that the situation in nursery schools was already difficult.

“Many daycare centres across Germany are currently struggling with a high number of staff absences,” she said.

In Weegmann’s view, the skilled worker shortage in nursery schools needs to be dealt with urgently.

“Haste is required,” she said. “Otherwise we will no longer have a daycare centre crisis, but a complete daycare centre collapse.”

Though almost all sectors in Germany are battling severe staff shortages, education and childcare regularly emerge as two of the worst-affected sectors in the country.

According to Jennifer Rotter, a spokesperson for the Workers’ Welfare Association, this “precarious situation” makes school and Kita closures not just likely, but inevitable.

“Reduced opening hours and even short-term closures due to a lack of staff are almost the rule rather than the exception at the moment,” Rotter told RND.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Which German sectors have the most job openings?

Covid inflections in Germany have been on the rise since the beginning of autumn, with official statistics from the Robert Koch Institute suggesting an incidence of 27 infections per 100,000 people in the space of a week.

However, since testing for the virus has sunk to very low levels, experts say the real figure is likely much higher.

In addition to infections with Covid-19, general respiratory infections like the flu are also going up. In the week ending November 19th, the frequency of this type of infection had risen to 8,700 per 100,000 people.

Vocabulary

wave of illnesses – (die) Krankheitswelle

short-notice – kurzfristig

school closures – (die) Schulschließungen

precarious – prekär

We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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