The corona summer wave continues: The RKI reports again more patients with corona infection who have to be treated in intensive care units. Up to 1.6 million people showed symptoms last week. The omicron subline BA.5 has meanwhile replaced almost all other variants.
The number of people who have to be treated in an intensive care unit with Covid-19 continues to rise. As of Wednesday, their number was 1330, writes the Robert Koch Institute in its Corona weekly report (PDF), citing figures from the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI). A week earlier it was 1238.
The number of deaths has also increased, albeit only slightly so far. According to the weekly report, the number of people who see a doctor because of an acute respiratory disease also remains high. In the past week, 1.2 million visits to the doctor were recorded for this reason, and the number for adults is up to three times higher than is usual at this time of year. The RKI attributes the high number to the fact that, in addition to Sars-CoV-2, rhino and parainfluenza viruses were also circulating. Sars-CoV-2 dominates in adults.
According to the calculations, the number of people infected with corona with symptoms nationwide last week was 1 to 1.6 million – that’s even higher than last reported (800,000 to 1.3 million). The nationwide 7-day incidence continued to rise slightly compared to the previous week, especially among those aged 70 and over. Significantly more outbreaks were again registered in medical treatment facilities and in old people’s and nursing homes.
According to the RKI, the vast majority of infections can be traced back to the omicron subline BA.5, which has been dominant since mid-June, and the subtypes assigned to it. Their share of the analyzed samples is now 87 percent, other variants have been almost completely eliminated, according to the weekly report. The BA.2 subline BA.2.75, which is spreading in India and some other regions, has so far been detected four times in samples in Germany.
The RKI again emphasizes the importance of vaccinations. Unvaccinated people in all age groups would have a significantly higher risk of a severe course of Covid. “In particular, risk groups and very old people over the age of 70 should protect themselves against a serious illness with the 2nd booster vaccination recommended by the Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko).”
