The Robert Koch Institute has registered more than 192,000 new infections, and the incidence is rising slightly. Health Minister Lauterbach warns of increasing numbers of infections in summer. All developments in the live blog.
4:55 a.m
Incidence increases slightly to 1220.8
The nationwide seven-day incidence of new corona infections has risen again. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the value is 1220.8. The previous day it was 1196.4, on Saturday last week it was 1253.3.
As the RKI further reported, citing data from the health authorities, the number of new infections reported within 24 hours was 192,210. The day before, 217,593 new infections had been reported. The total number of registered cases of infection in Germany since the beginning of the corona pandemic has increased to 15,674,100. According to the RKI, 255 further deaths related to the corona virus were registered within 24 hours. The total number of corona deaths recorded in Germany rose to 124,051.
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4:55 a.m
End of almost all corona restrictions in Austria
As of today, almost all corona restrictions will be lifted in Austria. Among other things, people can again visit hotels, restaurants and bars without proof of vaccination or testing. The general night-time curfew will also be lifted. There are no upper visitor limits for events. The obligation to wear an FFP2 mask will be limited to hospitals, public transport and the customer areas of essential shops, among other things.
Austria’s government is pursuing its easing policy, although the Corona traffic light is currently red in all federal states. This means there is a high risk of spread as well as a high risk of overburdening the healthcare system.
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4:55 a.m
Lauterbach: Must expect a corona summer wave
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach warned of the increasing number of corona infections in the summer. He considers it necessary to maintain protection options beyond March 20th. “We have to reckon with a summer wave,” said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. Both the delta and the omicron variant of the virus are so infectious that even when the weather is good, many contacts and the decreasing vaccination protection could lead to an increase in the number of infections if there were no longer any restrictions.
The federal states should have the opportunity to react at an early stage. These included the obligation to wear masks and contact restrictions. “It should be possible to set upper limits for private meetings and public events as well as access rules for restaurants, for example, i.e. 2G or 2G-plus rules,” said Lauterbach. “To do this, there must continue to be the possibility of enforcing test rules in public spaces and in companies.” All these instruments should only be used when they are actually necessary.
From March 20th, most of the Corona requirements will no longer apply. So-called basic protective measures such as the obligation to wear a mask indoors should remain in place. The Bundestag still has to discuss the exact structure.
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