Coronavirus: Record contamination rate in Germany since the start of the pandemic – archyde

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The incidence rate of contamination by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in Germany has reached a record high since the start of the pandemic, official data show released on Monday, which will push hospitals to deprogram d other surgeries to treat COVID-19 patients.

The seven-day incidence rate, which measures the number of new cases of contamination per 100,000 inhabitants recorded during the past week, now stands at 201.1, more than the record of 197.6 reached in December 2020, according to the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases.

Despite the increase in contamination, the number of deaths recorded by hospital services remains relatively low (33 in 24 hours on Monday).

But in the face of this epidemic outbreak, some political leaders, such as the Minister-President of Bavaria, Markus Söder, are calling on the federal government to take rapid measures, such as the return to free PCR tests or the reopening of vaccination centers.

Christian Karagiannidis, scientific director of the Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), for his part warned that operations should be deprogrammed in the coming weeks to free up beds in hospitals.

Germany has already had to start transferring patients from the most affected regions, especially in the east of the country more resistant to vaccination, to regions where the epidemic situation is still under control.

According to the newspaper Die Welt, the three parties which have agreed to form the new German government coalition – the social democrats of the SPD, the Greens and the liberals of the FDP – must present this Monday proposals to stem the fourth wave of contamination, including the re-establishment of free testing.

(Report Vera Eckert and Paul Carrel, French version Tangi Salaün, edited by Myriam Rivet)