The Robert Koch Institute reported 78,698 new corona infections in Germany on Tuesday. The incidence continues to fall. Nevertheless, the number of unreported cases could be higher. After a corona outbreak, tens of thousands of tourists are stuck on a Chinese island. You can find all the news here in the Corona ticker on FOCUS online.
Tuesday, August 9, 7:18 a.m .: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the nationwide seven-day incidence on Tuesday morning as 381.5. This is evident from numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 5 a.m. The day before, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 389.3 (previous week: 516.1; previous month: 700.3). However, this information only provides a very incomplete picture of the number of infections. Experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI – mainly because not all infected people have a PCR test done. Only positive PCR tests count in the statistics. In addition, late registrations or transmission problems can lead to a distortion of individual daily values.
The health authorities in Germany recently reported 78,698 new corona infections (previous week: 102,698) and 170 deaths (previous week: 171) to the RKI within one day. Here, too, comparisons of the data are only possible to a limited extent due to the test behavior, late registrations or transmission problems. In general, the number of registered new infections and deaths varies significantly from weekday to weekday, since many federal states do not transmit them to the RKI, especially at weekends, and report their cases later in the week.
The RKI has counted 31,307,020 detected infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections go undetected.
Monday, August 8, 2022, 8:24 a.m .: Lasse Petersdotter, Schleswig-Holstein’s new leader of the Greens in the state parliament, has spoken out in favor of dealing with the corona pandemic in a way that is adapted to the changed situation. “The reasoned caution must continue to be a guideline for us,” said Petersdotter of the German Press Agency. “But we shouldn’t cling to certain measures if they are no longer the right ones.”
In the former state government with the CDU and FD, the Greens were considered cautious. “We have to be prepared to give up beliefs or develop new ones,” said Petersdotter. But that does not mean a departure from the previous course. “I think that’s completely correct.” However, it is important to get involved with new arguments.
The situation is currently changing, said Petersdotter. “Some experts are already talking about an endemic phase, while others are even more skeptical.” It is therefore necessary to continue to seek the advice of experts from different areas before future decisions are made by the state government. “So far we have always done well in the pandemic in the north.”
The obligation to isolate after a corona infection is still necessary for the time being, said Petersdotter. “We are not yet in a position to say that it doesn’t matter whether someone has Corona or not.” Because there are still risks for certain groups and sometimes long courses of the disease. According to a representative Infratest dimap survey for the ARD Germany trend, 69 percent currently want to stick to the regulation of at least five days of isolation. More than one in four (28 percent), on the other hand, spoke in favor of lifting the obligation to isolate.
Sunday, August 7, 7:46 a.m.: Tens of thousands of tourists have been stranded in the Chinese holiday paradise of Sanya on the island of Hainan, known as “China’s Hawaii”, due to a corona outbreak. Flights and rail services have been halted after a few hundred infections were discovered on the island had been and the virus is apparently spreading further, as reported by state media on Sunday.
As the rest of the world tries to live with the virus, China continues to adhere to a strict zero-Covid policy, imposing sweeping restrictions on any outbreak. According to the vice mayor, there are 80,000 tourists in Sanya, 30,000 of whom are in hotels. Many Chinese also maintain their own holiday apartments in Sanya, where they live temporarily.
Hotels have offered discounts of 50 percent for stuck travelers, the Global Times newspaper reported. Tourists are only allowed to leave Sanya after a seven-day risk assessment. Public transport was stopped on Saturday. According to state television, Sanya Airport canceled all flights on Sunday – the previous day there were 164 machines.
A video posted on social media showed travelers at the airport shouting “We want to go home!” while an official struggled through a megaphone to explain to them that they had to return to hotels. More than 500 cases have been reported in Hainan since Monday. Another 297 cases on the island were reported by the Beijing Health Commission on Sunday. It is the majority of the 337 new infections across China that were discovered the previous day. 399 asymptomatic cases were also identified in the country.
4:38 p.m .: According to the Medical Association, the official corona numbers for Germany only show part of the actual cases of infection. The chairman of the Federal Association of Physicians in the Public Health Service (BVÖDG), Johannes Nießen, told the newspapers of the editorial network Germany on Saturday that he estimates the number of unreported corona cases to be around two to three times as high. The general practitioners called on risk groups to be vaccinated a fourth time.
The official number of corona cases results from the reported positive PCR tests minus the deceased. Increasingly, however, “people undergo an antigen test and no longer carry out a PCR test,” explained official medical officer Nießen. “This leads to an under-recording of the infections.” The corona monitoring of wastewater and antibody studies of blood donations give indications of this under-recording.
Not everyone has a PCR test done after a positive rapid test
“Only some of those who have a positive rapid test also do a PCR test for confirmation,” confirmed the Federal Chairman of the German General Practitioners Association, Ulrich Weigeldt. “For that reason alone, a high number of unreported cases can be assumed,” he told the newspapers. According to the report, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) only registered 890,000 PCR tests in the week starting July 18. At peak times in January and March of this year, there were around 2.5 million tests per week. The RKI is currently recording tens of thousands of corona infections every day. The seven-day incidence is more than 400.
The general practitioners are meanwhile promoting the fourth corona vaccination in accordance with the recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko). She advises people over 70, those with previous illnesses and nursing staff to get a second booster vaccination. Of these, “far too few” have decided to have the fourth vaccination, said association head Weigeldt of the “Rheinische Post”.
The doctor added that the individual situation of each patient must always be considered. “Of course, whether someone is 69 or 70 will not be the all-important question, because no switch is flipped on their 70th birthday.” A younger patient with previous illnesses could be more at risk than a 70-year-old “who is in top shape. “
However, the Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, Carsten Watzl, advised waiting for the vaccines adapted to the new corona variants. “Since the adapted vaccines will hopefully come next month, you can now wait if you haven’t had the fourth vaccination yet,” he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Because if you are now vaccinated for the fourth time with the previous vaccines, you should wait at least three to six months before the next vaccination.”
Minister of Health: Adapted vaccines are to come soon
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) declared at the end of July that adapted vaccines would be available in September. These would “significantly” reduce the risk of corona infection.
2:53 p.m .: The RKI sees a slight improvement in the burden on the health system. However, there can be no talk of an all-clear in the corona pandemic.
The Robert Koch Institute continues to see major challenges in the Corona summer wave, despite the recent downward trend. Although incidences and other values have recently dropped significantly, the general infection pressure remains high, according to the institute’s weekly report on Covid-19 on Thursday evening. “The associated burden on the health system remains high, even if the operational situation has improved slightly in the past week.” At the same time, the RKI sees a further need for vaccination among millions of people.
The nationwide seven-day incidence fell significantly by a total of 21 percent last week compared to the previous week, according to the weekly report. The incidences are declining in a weekly comparison in all federal states and age groups.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the number of known infections in Germany has increased by 59,506 to over 31.17 million. That is 25,292 fewer cases than on Friday a week ago, when 84,798 infections were recorded. The seven-day incidence drops to 432.2 from 451.3 the previous day. The RKI reports 165 more deaths related to the corona virus. The known total is 144,717.
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