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COVID-19 STATS

Covid infections start to fall in Germany after autumn break

Following the autumn school holidays, public health officials have reported a decline in Covid infections and doctor visits.

Published: 28 October 2022 11:58 CEST
Medical mask on pavement
A medical mask lies on the pavement. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Kay Nietfeld

In the Robert Koch Institute’s view, the national spread of Covid-19 is currently tapering off. 

In its weekly pandemic report, the RKI said it had noted a “certain easing” of the situation in Germany. 

Public health officials estimate that between 700,000 and 1.6 million people in Germany were infected with Covid and showed symptoms of an acute respiratory illness in the past week, compared to between 1.1 and 2.2 million the previous week. 

In 350,000 cases, a doctor’s visit revealed a respiratory disease in connection with a Covid-19 diagnosis. This is around 100,000 fewer than the week before. 

READ ALSO: Are German states poised to bring back uniform Covid measures?

Decrease in seven-day incidence

The seven-day incidence of Covid infections also declined by about 16 per cent last week compared to three weeks earlier, the report added. In a sign that the worst of the autumn wave could have passed its peak, this trend was evidenced “in most federal states and in all age groups”.

However, it is currently difficult for health experts to predict whether the decline will continue in the coming weeks. Over the past few weeks, schools in several states have been closed for autumn holidays. 

This could have had an influence on people’s contact with others and their testing behaviour, the RKI explained.

According to the RKI’s figures, the nationwide seven-day incidence is currently 464.1.

The value quantifies how many people were infected with the virus within one week among 100,000 citizens.

The lowest value is currently recorded in the northern city-state of Hamburg, with an incidence of 285.8. The highest incidence of 683.7 is currently recorded in Saarland, followed by 600.7 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

READ ALSO: What will the Covid situation in Germany look like this autumn?

Concern over new variants

Over the past months, the Omicron BA.5 subtype has been the dominant variant in Germany. At present, it has almost entirely displaced all other variants, accounting for around 96 percent of all new infections. 

But concern is growing over new sublines of BA.5 that appear to be spreading rapidly.

According to the RKI, the Covid sublines BF.7, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are gaining ground in Germany – though the overall number of infections still remains low. The latest samples suggest that BQ.1 currently accounts for just two percent of Covid infections, while BQ.1.1 accounts for just under three percent.

However, Moritz Gerstung from the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg says the real figure could be more than twice as high. 

“According to our calculations, the share is currently around six per cent for BQ.1 and seven per cent for BQ.1.1,” Gerstung told DPA. 

Bremen freimarkt

Visitors stroll around a fairground at the Bremer Freimarkt in Bremen. The autumn break saw a drop-off in infections. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sina Schuldt

Experts also disagree about how dangerous the spread of the new BA.5 sublines could be.

Recently, the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) issued a warning about the rapid spread of BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which appear to be more resistent to the human immune response.

However, Carsten Watzl, Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, estimates that the new subtypes will lead to an increase in infections, but not to an increase in the number of severe cases of the disease as a result of infection.

The spread of the new variants should be closely observed, but there is no need to take additional measures just yet, Watzl said. 

In September, Germany started rolling out two new Omicron-adapted vaccines – including a Pfizer vaccine adapted to the BA.4 and BA.5 subtypes – in vaccine centres and GPs. 

These adapted vaccines, which offer better protection against Omicron in particular, are now recommended for all booster jabs. 

READ ALSO: Where – and how – people can get the new Omicron vaccine in Germany

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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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