BERLIN, Germany The German government on Friday said it was on alert for people of all ages against the rising number of new Govt-19 cases in the country, warning that the situation could worsen as winter approaches.
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“With the increase in infection statistics, we see the situation getting worse at all levels, which also applies to intensive care units,” Health Ministry spokesman Oliver Evolt told a regular news conference in Berlin.
According to the Robert Koch Institute for Public Health Surveillance (RKI), “an upward trend in the 7-day incidence rate since the end of September, which emerged last week for almost all ages.”
“The increase in the number of cases is expected to accelerate in the fall and winter.”
The seven-day event rate, which has been rising for several weeks, was 95.1 per 100,000 people in the country on Friday. A week ago, it was 68.7.
On Friday, the RKI counted 19,572 new infections, the highest value since the beginning of May, increasing by 70% in one week. 116 people have died in Germany in the last 24 hours.
Since the outbreak, at least 4,437,280 people have been infected with the virus and 94,991 have died.
“The number of new positive cases for the corona virus is significantly higher than the same period last year,” RKI said in its weekly report.
The trend is not yet leading to an “increased pace” of COVID-19 patients in need of intensive care, the health ministry said.
The Intensive Care Association (DIV), however, is alarmed by recent developments. Divi senior expert Christian Karachiyannitis noted that there is a “very close correlation” between the increasing incidence and the new hospital admission of COVID-19 positive patients.
“The real fourth wave is starting now and accelerating,” he tweeted.
According to official statistics, 66.1% of the population has been fully vaccinated and nearly 70% have received the first injection. However, RKI estimates that the actual percentage of the vaccinated population will be slightly higher.
In Germany, it is necessary to issue a health passport to access many places and events.
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