In view of the debate about the informative value of the corona incidence in the course of the vaccination campaign, an adjustment of limit values could be imminent for the traffic light system of the Berlin Senate. A spokesman for the health administration said on request that there was an exchange with the federal, state and experts on the subject.
According to the previous definition, the corona traffic light shows yellow from 20 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days – and red from 30. Berlin is heading towards the 30 mark, on Tuesday the value was 24.8 after a longer increase.
The thresholds of 20 and 30 were set in May 2020. The Senate’s warning system, which is displayed in the online management report, takes into account a total of three indicators: seven-day incidence, intensive care units, and weekly incidence trend.
As the Senate announced when the early warning system was introduced, two yellows mean that the problem should be discussed, and double reds mean there is an urgent need for action. In Tuesday’s situation report, the traffic light showed twice yellow, once green.
Incidence among young people in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg over 180
Experts point out that the vaccination campaign changes the significance of the incidence because the severity of the disease is reduced. So far, it has been considered a value with which the subsequent hospital stress could be estimated at an early stage.
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In the federal government, the incidence was the basis for many corona restrictions, for example as part of the federal emergency brake that expired at the end of June. In the future, other values such as hospital admissions will also be taken into greater account nationwide. With the traffic light system, Berlin was already further, according to the health administration.
In the capital, it is mainly younger people who are currently infected – in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, for example, the incidence in 20 to 24-year-olds is more than 180 – while intensive care units have so far been low.
Inclusion of the weekly trend gives even more weight to incidence
There had already been a change in the Corona traffic light last week: The fluctuating reproductive number (R value) is no longer part of it, after it was no longer transmitted by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), as the health administration explained. It was replaced by the percentage for the weekly trend of the seven-day incidence – which initially further strengthened the weighting of the incidence.
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) recently pointed out on the subject of incidence that 75 percent of people over 60 are currently fully vaccinated, a quarter not. “If you take the measure, you can say: 200 is the new 50.” (Tsp, dpa)
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