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COVID-19

Germany records more than 80,000 daily Covid infections

Germany reached a new Covid record on Wednesday after seeing more than 80,000 infections in the latest 24 hour period.

Published: 12 January 2022 10:12 CET
Commuters in Hanover main station on Wednesday.
Commuters in Hanover main station on Wednesday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Julian Stratenschulte

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said there were 80,430 confirmed Covid infections within 24 hours, indicating that the Omicron wave is beginning to hit the country at full force. 

A week ago, there were 58,912 infections within a day, although there have been gaps in testing and reporting during the holidays.

The 7-day incidence rose to 407.5 Covid infections per 100,000 people, compared to 387.9 the previous day. For comparison, a week ago, the nationwide incidence was 258.6, and a month ago it was 390.9.

Regionally, the incidence numbers vary hugely. The city state of Bremen has the highest 7-day incidence at the moment with 1296.8 infections per 100,000 people.

Schleswig-Holstein (633.0), Hamburg (568.9) and Berlin (856.4) are also reporting incidences of over 500.

When it comes to districts, the district of Bremen is highest with 1,394.2 infections per 100,000 people and the Berlin districts of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (1,164.7) and Berlin-Neukölln (1,160.7) follow. 

The lowest state incidence is currently in Saxony, which has a 7-day incidence of 239.5. This region of Germany recently had the highest number of infections during the Delta variant wave, which recently began to ease. 

It is suspected that these differences are related to the spread of the Omicron variant – which began earlier in the north of the country – and to the higher risk of infection at the moment in large cities.

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What about deaths and hospitalisations?

Germany is still seeing a high number of daily deaths. In the latest 24 hour period, 348 people are reported to have died from or with a Covid infection. 

The number of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was 3.34 on Tuesday (Monday: 3.37). This so-called hospitalisation incidence also varies greatly from region to region. In Bremen, it is 29.99. All other federal states report values below 10.

This benchmark is used to gage how overwhelmed hospitals are, and if new measures are needed. 

In general the number of Covid patients being admitted to intensive care units in Germany has been falling since mid-December, and currently stands at just under 3,200 patients.  

At the peak of Germany’s second wave last winter, there were more than 5,700 Covid-19 patients in ICUs.

Member comments

  2. Hospitalizations of those infected is a better metric to assess severity of the variant rather than total cases.

    Also, existing medical condition like diabetes, COPD or another chronic illness that contributes to death is seldom reported, including the age group.

    Reporting 80,000 infected without data content fuels the ongoing fear gripping nations to overact with continuous lockdowns, closures, restrictions that simply don’t work, despite majority of population being vaccinated. Yes, get vaccinated but move on with your life.

    Zero risk threshold of COVID infections will never happen. Vaccines are not 100% effective, just like the flu vaccines. The virus is here to stay and have to live it without disrupting our day-to-day lives.

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FAMILY

German schools and kitas warn of closures amid staff sickness wave

Schools and nurseries in Germany could have to close their doors due to too many staff members calling in sick with seasonal infections, the primary school association has warned.

Published: 24 November 2023 10:56 CET
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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