BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The BA.2 variant of Omikron, which according to initial findings can be transmitted even more quickly, is spreading further in Germany according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) – albeit initially at a low level. For the week up to January 30, the RKI shows a share of 8.1 percent in its weekly report from Thursday evening – compared to around five percent a week earlier. ‘In terms of clinical characteristics, there is currently no evidence that BA.2 infection differs from BA.1 infection,’ the report states. In Germany, the omicron subtype BA.1 continues to dominate.
In the midst of the omicron wave and the debate about possible corona loosening, experts recently pointed out the new BA.2 subtype, which is already spreading rapidly in countries such as Denmark. This is therefore also possible in Germany and, according to many, could ensure that the omicron wave is extended.
With a view to the current corona situation in Germany, the RKI experts warned: “There is still a very high infection pressure in the population. The peak of the fifth wave has not yet been reached.” According to the RKI, the highest seven-day incidences were still recorded in children between the ages of five and 14. But also in the older age groups, the seven-day incidences have recently increased again significantly.
According to RKI estimates, there were 420,000 doctor visits in Germany within seven days because of Covid-19. As can be seen from the RKI publication, the number of corresponding doctor visits increased significantly in the past week compared to the previous week. Since the turn of the year, the number of doctor visits has increased and in almost all age groups the values of previous corona waves are significantly exceeded.
According to the RKI, calculations for the fifth week of the year also show that around 1.9 to 4.3 percent of children and adolescents up to the age of 14 and 1.4 to 2.7 percent of people over the age of 15 have Covid-19 with symptoms of an acute respiratory disease sufferers. The authority has also been presenting calculations such as these in the publication for a few weeks now. The background is, for example, a presumably increasing incompleteness of the reporting data due to limited capacities of laboratories and health authorities.
According to the RKI, 2398 patients who tested positive for corona were treated in intensive care units on Wednesday – a week earlier it had been 2307.
In the weekly report, the experts from the RKI once again pointed out the tense Covid 19 situation and confirmed their vaccination appeals. Compliance with the known protective and hygiene measures and the consistent reduction in contact remained crucial. “The booster vaccination significantly improves protection against COVID19. Therefore: get boosters now, because #vaccinate protects,” the authority commented on Twitter.
Most recently, RKI boss Lothar Wieler was optimistic that the omicron wave would soon be over – even if its peak had not yet been reached. It was still too early to give the all-clear, he warned, and urged special care and attention./jjk/DP/zb