Germany began easing Covid-19 curbs last month and most of the remaining measures are due to expire Sunday — though some states including the capital Berlin have said they will keep restrictions in place until the end of this month. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has repeatedly warned against complacency, and said Sunday that the outbreak could cause “many deaths.”
In the 24 hours through early Thursday, there were almost 300,000 new infections, the most since the pandemic began two years ago, according to data from the RKI public-health institute. The seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 people has been climbing since the beginning of this month and is now at 1,651.4, the RKI said.
Germany hasn’t experienced the steep drop in transmission seen in other countries, such as the UK and the US Daily deaths from Covid-19 are still around 250 to 300 people, with another 278 reported Thursday. At the same time, the number of Covid-19 cases in intensive care units is at less than half the level at the end of last year.
The rising infection numbers are partly due to the spread of the highly infectious — but apparently less deadly — BA.2 subvariant of the omicron strain. It now accounts for about half the Covid-19 cases in Germany, according to the RKI.
Germany’s vaccination campaign has ground to a halt in recent months, and lawmakers in the Bundestag will later on Thursday debate proposals for introducing mandatory Covid-19 shots.
As of Wednesday, just under 76% of the population were inoculated against the virus, according to Health Ministry data, leaving about 15.6 million people over the age of four without protection. Around 2.7 million Germans aged 60 and older haven’t been vaccinated.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Germany’s Covid-19 outbreak hits record with curbs poised to expire
Image: Imke Lass/Bloomberg
Germany registered a record number of new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, propelling the infection rate to a new high for the sixth straight day and raising alarm ahead of plans to lift almost all remaining curbs this weekend.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to hold talks with regional leaders on pandemic strategy later on Thursday. Russia’s war on Ukraine is also on the agenda, and there appears little appetite to reimpose nationwide restrictions as long as hospitalisation rates remain in check.
“The time has come to pull back restrictions, but the states unanimously want basic protection,” North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wuest said in an interview on ARD television on Thursday. The government should establish clear rules for a “hotspot” and when and how that would trigger renewed restrictions, he said.
Germany began easing Covid-19 curbs last month and most of the remaining measures are due to expire Sunday — though some states including the capital Berlin have said they will keep restrictions in place until the end of this month. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has repeatedly warned against complacency, and said Sunday that the outbreak could cause “many deaths.”
In the 24 hours through early Thursday, there were almost 300,000 new infections, the most since the pandemic began two years ago, according to data from the RKI public-health institute. The seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 people has been climbing since the beginning of this month and is now at 1,651.4, the RKI said.
Germany hasn’t experienced the steep drop in transmission seen in other countries, such as the UK and the US Daily deaths from Covid-19 are still around 250 to 300 people, with another 278 reported Thursday. At the same time, the number of Covid-19 cases in intensive care units is at less than half the level at the end of last year.
The rising infection numbers are partly due to the spread of the highly infectious — but apparently less deadly — BA.2 subvariant of the omicron strain. It now accounts for about half the Covid-19 cases in Germany, according to the RKI.
Germany’s vaccination campaign has ground to a halt in recent months, and lawmakers in the Bundestag will later on Thursday debate proposals for introducing mandatory Covid-19 shots.
As of Wednesday, just under 76% of the population were inoculated against the virus, according to Health Ministry data, leaving about 15.6 million people over the age of four without protection. Around 2.7 million Germans aged 60 and older haven’t been vaccinated.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Image: Bloomberg
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