SHARE
COPY LINK

COVID-19 STATS

Is Germany heading into next Covid wave?

Covid-19 infections in Germany had been dropping in recent weeks, but cases appear to be picking up again as autumn arrives. Here's a look at the current situation.

A Covid test centre in Rostock, northern Germany.
A Covid test centre in Rostock, northern Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Wüstneck

Autumn has officially arrived in Germany, and with it the temperatures have been falling. 

So perhaps it’s no surprise that more people are getting sick – and Covid cases seem to be rising. 

According to the Robert Koch Institute’s (RKI) latest report, the nationwide 7-day incidence of Covid cases per 100,000 people climbed by 11 percent compared to the week before. 

The largest increase in Covid infections was in the 50 to 84-year-old age group, the report said. 

The incidence calculation is based on laboratory tests, although these are now being carried out less frequently than in previous phases of the pandemic.

But the RKI has also recorded slight increases in the estimates of those who have contracted Covid-19, and in the number of visits to doctors for this reason.

Furthermore, the number of reported Covid outbreaks in medical facilities and nursing homes has increased. A few days ago, the Association of Accredited Laboratories in Medicine (ALM) spoke of a trend reversal in its evaluation of PCR tests. Test numbers in specialist laboratories have risen again for the first time in months, they said. 

According to the weekly report, there is no sign yet of a resurgence in serious Covid-19 cases in hospitals and intensive care units. 

“The data show that the number of severe illnesses due to Covid-19 has stabilised at a plateau,” said the RKI. 

The 7-day incidence on Friday September 23rd was 294.7 Covid cases per 100,000 people. There were 50,800 confirmed cases in the latest 24 hour period, and 93 deaths. 

Germany has seen six Covid waves

Experts say the Omicron subtype BA.5 continues to account for the vast majority of cases (around 96 percent) in Germany. The RKI says the BA.2.75 subtype, which is under surveillance due to increased global spread, has been detected around 80 times in Germany. More than half of these detections come from the most recent weeks of variant evaluation (August 29th to September 11th). However, only a very small proportion of all positive samples are examined for this.

The RKI said it will only be possible to say whether this is the beginnings of a new wave after more analysis. 

In another RKI publication from Thursday, health experts said the country has seen six waves over the course of the pandemic in Germany so far.

According to the retroactive classification, the sixth wave began in June, and an end date has not yet been defined. Since a renewed increase in respiratory illnesses is to be expected due to the time of year, the impact of Covid cannot be accurately estimated at present, scientists said. 

The paper also emphasises that cases of severe illness are becoming more prominent in assessing the level of risk, “while the sheer number of infections is nowhere near as important as it was at the beginning of the pandemic”. 

New Covid-19 rules are coming into Germany from October 1st. They include a requirement to wear masks on long-distance trains and buses, but they will no longer be mandatory on planes. 

States can decide on several rules, including whether masks have to be worn on local public transport. So far, states have indicated that they will continue to enforce the mask mandate on buses, trains and trams. 

READ ALSO: Germany’s new Covid-19 rules from October

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.

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.

SHOW COMMENTS