The numbers are falling: the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports in his current weekly report no more increase or plateau in corona cases.
RKI records falling corona numbers
Instead, the number of reported cases fell in the 44th calendar week (Monday, October 28th, 2024 to Sunday, November 3rd, 2024) compared to 43. (Monday, October 21st, 2024 to Sunday, October 27th, 2024) :
- Die estimated incidence stood out from around 900 700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants . It had previously remained relatively stable.
- And visits to doctors’ offices have also recently decreased, it continues. That’s how it sank Incidence the Doctor visits with a Covid-19 diagnosis last up less than 100 per 100,000 inhabitants .
Is this the Corona trend reversal?
Fewer cases, fewer visits to the doctor – a trend reversal could now be deduced from the numbers, right? Unfortunately it’s not that simple. Because there is a big problem with the reported values: the reporting delays.
The RKI explains: “Due to the autumn holidays and public holidays in some federal states in the 44th week of 2024, the values may change more significantly due to changed consultation behavior and practice closing times as well as subsequent reports.” It would therefore be too early to derive a clear trend from the number of cases.
What does the sewage say?
The situation is similar when looking at wastewater: experts see no significant drop in viral load there – but no increase either. The weekly report says: “In wastewater monitoring, the increase in the Sars-CoV-2 viral load of the last few weeks has not currently continued.” Previously, the viral load had risen sharply since mid-September.
People infected with Covid-19 excrete small amounts of the pathogen through feces and urine. This makes it possible to detect infections in wastewater under certain conditions and is particularly relevant now, when fewer and fewer people are being tested for Sars-CoV-2 – or do not suspect that they are infected due to mild symptoms. This is why this data is often considered more reliable and is intended to help uncover the number of unreported cases. However, there is also a factor here that limits the informative value: the sewage treatment plants also have to report the numbers. And here too there can be delays.
