Germany counted a staggering 50,196 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, its highest count since the pandemic began. It is the first time the country has been battling a major wave despite a majority of its population being doubly vaccinated.

Here are the reasons why case numbers are skyrocketing.

The effect of the unvaccinated

About 67% of people in Germany are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But experts have warned from the beginning of the rollout that the number is not high enough to keep the virus under control.

“Our vaccination rate is still under 75% of the German population,” said Dr. Christine Falk, president of the German Society for Immunology. “Combined with the lack of contact restrictions, this is allowing the virus to spread almost exclusively among the unvaccinated.”

According to the Robert Koch Institute, the incidence of hospitalizations for unvaccinated COVID-19 patients between 18 and 59 is currently about four times higher than for vaccinated ones. For patients over 60, it’s about six times higher.

Waning immunity

While the jabs significantly lower the risk of serious illness and death, they don’t fully protect against infection. With soaring case numbers, the risk of getting COVID-19 also rises for vaccinated people.

“The growing numbers are also increasing the pressure on vaccinated people, but the portion of breakthrough infections is miniscule,” Dr. Frank says.

The vaccinated who could face a higher risk, she says, are the older ones with weaker immune systems, especially if some time has passed since their second shot. The country is now administeringbooster shots to people who were fully immunized more than six months ago.

Fewer contact restrictions

Compared to early 2021, Germany has lax distancing measures in place during this fourth wave.

About a year ago, the government introduced rules that would eventually develop into ahard lockdown: All nonessential businesses were closed and a nighttime curfew was imposed temporarily. There were varying restrictions about how many households could meet.

In combination with the vaccine rollout, these measures caused Germany’s incidence to drop in the spring.

Nowadays, people in Germany face less rigid rules: They have to wear medical, so-called FFP-2 masks on public transport and in stores, and most venues will only let them in if they are vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 or were tested.

The delta variant is more infectious

This yeardelta, a more contagious mutation of the coronavirus, has become the predominant variant in Germany and much of the world.

It is more than twice as contagious as previous variants, according to the CDC. It might also cause unvaccinated people to experience worse symptoms.

The seasonal effect

Another factor fueling Germany’s fourth wave is that winter is just around the corner.

“The delta variant virus loves the cold. We spend more time indoors which makes it easier to spread the virus,” said Dr. Falk.

Germany is not the only place

Other European countries like Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium are also seeing soaring infection incidences as these factors come together.

Dr. Frank pleads for people to be smart during this fourth wave and consistently wear masks and to take antigen tests as soon as symptoms appear. But most of all, she encourages the unvaccinated to get their shots.

“If we don’t increase the vaccination rate urgently, it will become difficult to control the situation,” she said. “The vaccines are the best thing that could’ve happened to us, but there are still too many people refusing them.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/5-reasons-germanys-covid-19-infections-are-soaring/a-59793087

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Photo: Imanuel Marcus

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The Coronavirus infection numbers in Germany are now rising quickly. On Wednesday morning, the Robert Koch Institute reported 8,324 new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours. It is the highest number since May 21st, when 8,769 new cases were reported.

Berlin, August 18th, 2021 (The Berlin Spectator) — In Germany, the number of Corona infections is now increasing at an alarming pace yet again. As many as 80 counties now have Seven Day Incidence levels higher than 50, three of them exceeded 100. The Robert Koch Institute also reported high Incidences in nine out of twelve Berlin districts. Neukölln is still the German capital’s Corona hotspot. It now stands at 111.5. Only Flensburg in north-western Germany has a higher Seven Day Incidence. Here, it increased to 116.5.

Rising Numbers in Berlin

The other Berlin districts with high Incidences are Spandau (93.7), Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (82.6), Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (82.2), Mitte (79.4), Reinickendorf (75.5), Tempelhof-Schöneberg (72.9), Lichtenberg (57.2) and Marzahn-Hellersdorf (53.2). One out of 412 German counties stands at 0.0. It is Weimar. Germany’s national Incidence rose to 40.8, from 37.4 on Tuesday.

On the list of federal states, the numbers do not look good either. Hamburg has reached an Incidence level of 74.5, Berlin stands at 69.2 and North Rhine-Westphalia at 64.6. Schleswig-Holstein just exceeded the critical level of 50 for the first time in months.

Vaccinations on Trains

In the meantime, the federal states intend to shut down their regional vaccination centers in spite of the fact that Germany’s vaccination campaign is stalling. The ‘Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland’ reports, the reason behind the closures was the fact that the funding by the state ended at the end of September. This means the federal states would have to run those vaccination centers at their own cost. This is something they are not ready to do.

Soon, doctor’s offices are supposed to take over, even though they are already busy vaccinating their patients. Some states intend to take the vaccinations to the people instead of the other way around. The Berlin Senate even plans to offer vaccinations on ‘S-Bahn’ city trains. In the German capital, people are already being vaccinated at popup vaccination spots located at squares and Ikea parking lots.

Low Vaccination Rate

Before the summer vacations, up to 1.3 million Germans had been vaccinated per day. Nowadays, the number of persons who get their shots on good days is less than half. Last week, a bit more than half a million vaccinations were administered on Wednesday. On the other days, the numbers were even lower. So far, 57.5 percent of all Germans and other residents of Germany have been fully vaccinated.

All relevant Corona numbers for Germany, and daily Corona updates, can be found in our Corona chronology.

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Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday recognized families have had to carry an increased burden during the pandemic as Germany closed its schools, as well as asking parents to work from home.

However, she indicated it’s still too early to reopen Germany’s places of childcare and education.

“We are not yet ready to reopen daycare centers and schools,” she said in her weekly video podcast released on Saturday. “But the more consistent we are now, refraining from contact and keeping our distance, following hygiene rules and wearing masks, the sooner it will be possible again.”

‘Huge effort’

Speaking ahead of her Monday meeting with Germany’s 16 state premiers to discuss the pandemic, Merkel said the crisis had required a “huge effort” from families in the face of the weeks-long lockdown, but she appealed for more patience.

“We are doing everything we can to be the first to reopen daycare centers and schools in order to give children back a piece of their familiar everyday life and to relieve families,” Merkel said.

At the same time, Merkel warned against “a very real danger from highly contagious virus mutations.”

The German government has come under increased pressure over its slow vaccine rollout. There have been supply bottlenecks on the part of pharmaceutical companies, as well as uncertainty over the AstraZeneca vaccine’s efficacy in people aged 65 and over, at least in Germany.

Lockdown set to continue beyond mid-February

According to the Robert Koch Institute, the number of new infections reported within a seven-day period per 100,000 inhabitants is currently at 90.9. The federal government’s target is 50.

Until this number is significantly reduced, there is little end in sight for Germany’s lockdown, which is due to end on February 14, according to Ralph Brinkhaus, the leader of Merkel’s conservative bloc in the German parliament.

“Better to take a little tougher action now for a little longer than an out-in-out-in-out situation, which ultimately wears everyone down,” he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Saturday.

On Friday, Germany announced entry restrictions for travelers from the UK, Ireland, Brazil, Portugal, and South Africa, as concerns continued to rise over more contagious coronavirus variants.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-angela-merkel-urges-patience-with-lockdown-rules/a-56392261

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BERLIN (AP) — Germany reported a record level of coronavirus deaths as it entered a harder lockdown Wednesday, closing shops and schools to try to bring down stubbornly high new daily infections.

The country recorded 179.8 virus infections per 100,000 residents over the last seven days, a new high and significantly more than the 149 per 100,000 reported a week ago by the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control center.

It also blew past its previous daily death toll, with Germany’s 16 states reporting that 952 more people had died of the virus, the institute said. That was far greater than the previous daily record set Friday of 598 deaths, although it included two days of figures from the hard-hit eastern state of Saxony, which did not report Tuesday. It brought the country’s overall pandemic death toll to 23,427.

“It’s as if the virus wanted to remind us how important what we’re now doing is,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said of the surge in deaths being reported on the day new restrictions come into force.

Faced with exponentially increasing cases in October, Germany implemented a “lockdown light” at the start of November, which closed bars and restaurants but left shops open. The measures slowed the weekly increase in new infections but didn’t bring them down, prompting officials to take more drastic measures.

In addition to closing shops and moving children to remote learning for the few days before the Christmas holidays, private gatherings are being limited to two households with a maximum of five people, among other things.

On Berlin’s upscale Kurfuerstendamm boulevard, Berlin resident Noury Oeddin looked around at the empty streets and shuttered shops in disbelief as the lockdown measures announced Sunday were put into force.

“It’s very strange, it’s not normal,” said the 46-year-old bakery manager. “I don’t know what these politicians want to do — they left it all open for too long, and now all of a sudden we had to quickly buy everything in two days. We people don’t know what they are doing anymore.”

Retiree Hans-Joachim Pauer said, however, that the measures were understandable.

“This is certainly harmful to the economy, but what alternative do we have?” the 71-year-old asked. “Certainly it is not good.”

Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks, and other businesses providing services deemed essential — including Christmas tree vendors — can remain open.

In Saxony, where the virus is spreading most rapidly in Germany at the moment, hospitals are filling up. The state’s governor said more drastic restrictions might be necessary, calling it “pure poison” when too many people were still going out and about.

The restrictions are expected last until at least Jan. 10 but enjoy wide support, with the latest polls showing more than 80% of Germans approve of the lockdown measures or think they should be stricter.

“This year, I don’t think Christmas is that important, in the face of the facts we have in society right now,” said Stella Kretschmer, who was picking up a prescription in the western city of Cologne.

The 27-year-old student said she was in favor of shops being closed down.

“For me, consumption is not the most important thing,” she said, adding, however, that she does “feel sorry for the people who … have to fear for their jobs.”

Germany was widely praised for slowing the spread of its outbreak in the spring, but as people grew lax with distancing and mask rules over the summer the numbers of cases started to climb again.

While daily new cases peaked in March at about 6,000, they are now more than four times that level, with 27,728 new cases reported Wednesday by the Robert Koch Institute.

German officials have pressed the European Union’s regulatory agency hard to speed up its approval of a coronavirus vaccine, and the European Medicines Agency has scheduled a meeting Monday on that. With vaccinations expected to start before year’s end, German officials have urged people to stay patient and respect the regulations over the holidays.

Spahn, the health minister, said Germany was ready and could begin vaccinations within two to four days of the EMA’s approval.

“These are difficult days and at the same time they’re days that give rise to optimism, to hope, because there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” he told lawmakers. “Vaccination is the way out of this pandemic and we are well prepared for this path.”

Authorities in Berlin said late Wednesday that Spahn had informed health officials from the country’s 16 states about progress in getting regulatory approval for the vaccine made by BioNTech and Pfizer, and plans for shipping it.

“The states conclude from this that Dec. 27 will be the start date for vaccinations,” Berlin’s health office said in a statement. “In particular, the vaccination should begin in nursing homes.”

Dorothee Thiesing and Frank Jordans contributed to this story.

Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Source: https://apnews.com/article/germany-coronavirus-lockdown-pandemic-858a1e04805642c5efff7a0d7af68a23

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A World Health Organization research mission to China is expected to arrive in Wuhan next month to investigate how the novel coronavirus jumped from animals to humans, and whether it emerged earlier or in a different place than originally thought.

Fabian Leendertz, a biologist at Germany’s Robert Koch Institute and a member of the WHO’s 10-person mission team, told the Associated Press they will be working with Chinese scientists for four to five weeks.

Most scientists think the virus Sars-Cov-2 began in animals in China, most likely bats, before jumping to humans. Cases were first discovered in the city of Wuhan in late December 2019, linked to a seafood market. More than 73.4 million people have since been diagnosed with the virus, and 1.63 million have died.

The WHO team will look at stored medical samples and x-rays from before the first known outbreak to see if the virus was circulating earlier, and take samples from bats and other species to try track down the animal in which the virus first emerged, Leendertz said. “Then to see where that track leads us, if it’s another city or if it stays in Wuhan or where that goes,” he said. Leendertz said it was possible that the Wuhan market was “just the first mega-spreading event or one of the first”.

“The big scope is to try to find out what happened,” said Leendertz.

“How the virus jumped from which animal to perhaps an intermediate host and then to humans. To reconstruct the scenario.”

The source of the virus has been the subject of conspiracy claims and coverup accusations and has fueled diplomatic rows, particularly between the US and China. Initial attempts by Chinese authorities to cover up the outbreak, including detaining citizen journalists and punishing doctors, and a reported reluctance to allow the WHO or others to investigate inside China only added to hostilities throughout the year.

The WHO sent an initial research team to China in July to help understand “how the virus started”.

Chinese authorities and state media have recently stepped up an apparent campaign to suggest the virus did not originate in China, including seizing on reports of the virus’s earlier presence in Italy despite the researcher himself labeling the claims “propaganda”. The People’s Daily said in a social media post that “all available evidence suggests that the coronavirus did not start in central China’s Wuhan”.

However Michael Ryan, director of the health emergencies program at the World Health Organization (WHO), told reporters last month that it would be “highly speculative” to argue that the disease did not emerge in China.

“It is clear from a public health perspective that you start your investigations where the human cases first emerged.”

The WHO itself has faced accusations that it was too deferential to China in the early months, accepting claims later found to be untrue including that there was no evidence of human to human transmission, slowing down the world’s ability to respond.

Other than quarantine on arrival, Leendertz said he was not aware of any restrictions on the team.

“There will be a report from that mission, but I’m pretty sure that (it) will not give the full answer,” he said.

“It’s really not about finding a guilty country,” Leendertz said.

“It’s about trying to understand what happened and then see if based on those data, we can try to reduce the risk in the future.”https://www.adaderana.lk/news

Source: https://www.novinite.com/articles/207123/WHO+Team+Leaves+for+Wuhan+to+Investigate+Coronavirus+Origin

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Germany has recorded nearly 20,000 new coronavirus cases in one day, its highest level yet.

The national disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, on Thursday said 19,990 infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours.

That tops the previous record of 19,059 set on Saturday.

It brought the total case tally in Germany, a nation of 83 million people since the pandemic began to 597,583.

Another 118 deaths raised the total to 10,930.

People with face masks are pictured through a grid at a shopping street in the city centre of Essen, Germany (Martin Meissner/AP)

Like other European countries, Germany has seen a sharp rise in infections in recent weeks.

A four-week partial shutdown took effect on Monday, with bars, restaurants, leisure and sports facilities being closed and new contact restrictions imposed.

Shops and schools remain open.

Although Germany’s situation is alarming officials, many other European countries are in worse shape.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Wednesday that Germany has 237 new cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days, some seven times lower than in Belgium.

Source: https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40076453.html

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The number recorded by the Robert Koch Institute stood at 684 in the morning, with large clusters in the west and south, where an initial outbreak centred on a car supplier with a unit in Wuhan, where the infection was first detected.

The total is well over 10 times larger than it was a week ago. There were 66 cases on Feb. 29.

Western Europe’s most populous country has the second largest number of registered cases on the continent after Italy.

So far, no deaths have been reported, though the RND newspaper group reported that a transplant patient with a depressed immune system who had contracted coronavirus was in a critical condition.

With concern growing at the vulnerability of long international supply chains to such an epidemic, Ola Kallenius, chief executive of Mercedes maker Daimler (DAIGn.DE), warned against a return to economic nationalism.

“These events show how fragile global supply chains are,” he told Der Spiegel magazine in remarks published on Saturday. “But a world without global work sharing would be less successful … We should protect (that success) while checking for vulnerabilities where we can bring more security into the supply chain.”

He said Daimler was “gradually ramping up” production again in China after the Chinese New Year stoppage, which had been lengthened because of the coronavirus. But the disease would have an impact on company results.

“We can’t yet say what the impact will be, but it is clear that both production and sales will be affected,” Kallenius added.

Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), Europe’s largest airline group by fleet size, on Friday announced that it was slashing by half the number of flights it will operate in coming weeks as a result of the sudden slackening in demand.

While the government has so far resisted calls for direct economic stimulus to counter the effects of the slowdown, saying only that it has the resources to do so if necessary, more targeted measures are being contemplated.

Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Saturday that the parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition were discussing ways to make it temporarily easier for companies to shorten employees’ working hours by letting them off some of the cost of social security benefits.

And with panic buying triggering pictures of empty supermarket shelves on social media, transport minister Andreas Scheuer recommended that a ban on deliveries on Germany’s sacrosanct Sunday be lifted to ease restocking.

At a European health ministers’ summit on Friday, Health Minister Jens Spahn advised against trips to affected regions both abroad and at home, mentioning specifically the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where 346 cases have been reported.

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