Thursday, January 13, 2022
In Bremen almost 100 percent
Omicron variant now dominates in Germany
–
Omicron replaces Delta. The variant first discovered in South Africa now accounts for a good 73 percent of all new infections in Germany. However, it affects the country differently. Fewer people have to go to the hospital because of Covid-19.
Omicron is the dominant coronavirus variant in Germany. This emerges from the weekly report of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for the first calendar week of 2022. The regional distribution varies greatly. The number of new infections continues to rise and is reaching new highs. The proportion of positive PCR tests is also higher than at any time since the pandemic began.
Nationwide, the RKI states the proportion of omicron infections in the first week of the year at 73.3 percent. In the previous week, this value was still 40.2 percent. By January 10, 9,848 omicron cases confirmed by genome sequencing were reported in Germany, as well as 91,311 other suspected cases with variant-specific PCR findings.
However, the variant first recorded in South Africa does not spread equally quickly everywhere in Germany. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the share is only 10.6 percent, where the delta variant is still decisive (89.4 percent). In Saxony (26.4) and Saxony-Anhalt (28), the Omikron share is still well below 30 percent.
In West Germany, the infection process is different: At 72 percent, Baden-Württemberg has the lowest omicron proportion of all West German federal states. The greatest distribution is measured in Bremen, where Omikron has almost completely replaced all other variants. The new variant has a share of 96.2 percent. This influence is clearly reflected in the number of new infections.
New infections in the east are declining
Overall, the health authorities reported 332,352 new infections with the corona virus to the RKI in the first calendar week of the year. That is around 124,000 more than in the previous week. The increase in positive tests corresponds to 60 percent. Berlin was particularly badly affected with an increase of 131 percent and Bremen with 121 percent as well as Schleswig-Holstein with an almost doubling (plus 95 percent). In Saxony (minus 4 percent), Saxony-Anhalt (minus 5 percent) and Thuringia (minus 11 percent), on the other hand, the number of new infections fell.
The seven-day incidences per 100,000 inhabitants are correspondingly different: Bremen is at the top nationwide with 1044, followed by Berlin with 753. The incidence is particularly low in Lower Saxony (326) and Saxony-Anhalt (282). In Germany, the incidence is 400.
Young people carry pandemic events
A look at the age groups shows that the current pandemic wave is being carried to a large extent by 15-29 year olds. Its incidence is 700 and is well above the national average. In the 15 to 34 age group, the proportion of positive tests has increased in the past week, while it has remained constant or even decreased in all other age groups.
The proportion of positive tests (positive rate) is at its highest nationwide. It is now 22.85 percent. In the previous week it was 21.51 percent. Significantly more than every fifth PCR test is currently positive. A total of almost 1.5 million PCR tests were carried out. That’s the highest number in three weeks. Almost 95 million PCR tests have been carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, of which a good 8.2 million were positive.
The RKI counters concerns that the test capacities could soon be exhausted in view of the sharp rise in the number of cases: “Even if the number of cases continues to rise, it will be possible to reliably assess the overall development through the use of already established instruments of syndromic surveillance that supplement the individual case-related reporting system to create the Sars-CoV-2 epidemic in Germany.”
Over 80-year-olds have the highest incidence of hospitalization
Currently, a Covid disease leads to the hospital less often. And if they do, an excessive number of unvaccinated and older people with previous illnesses are affected. By far the highest incidence of hospitalization is in those over 80 years of age. The estimated values (nowcast method) of the hospitalization incidence are overall at a high level and, after stagnating, show a slight upward trend again. The burden on the intensive care units remains high due to the large number of people who are very seriously ill with Covid-19. As of January 12, 3050 people with a Covid 19 diagnosis are being treated in an intensive care unit, of which around 1800 people are being ventilated invasively.
In the next few weeks, a strong increase in infections with the omicron variant, which is also more easily transmissible in vaccinated and recovered people, is expected. Initial studies suggest a lower proportion of hospitalized versus delta variant infections in fully vaccinated or booster-vaccinated infected people. However, the available data is not yet sufficient for a conclusive assessment of the severity of the diseases caused by the omicron variant.
Moderate danger for those who have been boosted
As of January 11, 75 percent of the population had been vaccinated at least once and 72 percent had been fully vaccinated. In addition, 44 percent of the population have already received a booster vaccination. However, 22 percent of the population in the 18-59 age group and 12 percent in the 60+ age group are still unvaccinated.
The Robert Koch Institute estimates that Risk of Covid-19 for the health of the population in Germany as a whole as very high. The risk of infection is rated as very high for the unvaccinated group, as high for the recovered and vaccinated groups with primary immunization (two vaccinations) and as moderate for the group of vaccinated persons with booster vaccination (three vaccinations).
– .
