Germany has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections since the outbreak of the pandemic, with 33 949 cases.
Ministers are rushing to stop the spread and have seen an increase in the number of cases by more than 5K over the last week.
The record-breaking high was achieved as Jens Spahn, Germany’s federal health minister, warned that the country is facing a’massive pandemic’ of unvaccinated.
Health professionals stated that Covid-19-affected patients are the majority of those in intensive care. The numbers are increasing rapidly.
Germany registered 33,949 new cases over the last 24 hours on Thursday, up from 28,037 daily cases one week ago. The previous record was 33.777 new cases on December 18, 2020.
The cases have been raging intensely for the past few days, with Spahn warning that a forth wave was raging with exceptional force’.
Spahn will meet with 16 state health ministers to discuss ways to reduce the spread of the virus during winter, when intensive care units are filling up again and the number of infections among children is on the rise.
The number of Covid-related deaths in Germany and Europe is on the rise. On Thursday, Germany saw 165 deaths, an increase of 146 from a week ago. This means that Covid has claimed the lives of 96,192 people in Germany.
The warning comes as the World Health Organisation warns that Europe could see another half-million deaths in the next three month’s time, as the region is ‘back to the epicentre of pandemic’.
A specialist and an intensive-care nurse are busy caring for a Covid-19 victim in the Covid-19 ICU at Dresden Municipal Hospital in Dresden (Germany) on Wednesday
Jens Spahn, Germany’s federal Health Minister, warned that the country faces a’massive’ epidemic of unvaccinated.
Ministers blame Germany’s low vaccination rate for the rise in Covid cases. Only 66.69% of the population was fully jabbed as at Thursday.
Official figures show that around two thirds of the nation’s 83 million inhabitants have received one dose. 16.2 million people aged 12 and above are still unvaccinated, including 3.2 millions over-60s.
“We are currently experiencing mainly the pandemic of unvaccinated people and it’s massive,” Mr Spahn stated on Wednesday, warning that there are ‘insufficient intensive care beds in some areas of Germany’.
He said that the number and severity of infections are increasing as well as deaths from Covid. He also noted that intensive care units are becoming more common in certain regions of Germany, where vaccination rates may not be as high as in other areas.
“The truth is that there would have been far fewer Covid-19 patients in intensive treatment if everyone could get vaccinated.”
Senior health officials repeatedly appealed to German residents not yet vaccinated to get their shots. However, Mr Spahn acknowledged that many of those who aren’t convinced by the appeals were unsuccessful.
Only slightly more than 2 million booster shots have been administered to date, despite the August agreement by officials to make boosters available to over-60s and nursing home residents.
Contrary to European counterparts, Germany has not made coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for professional groups.
Spahn calls for unvaccinated people being vaccinated to curb the rise in infections.
Angela Merkel (the outgoing Chancellor), who called the coronavirus trend “very worrying”, indicated she was in favor of tighter curbs that are focused on the unvaccinated.
Merkel spoke through Steffen Seibert, her spokesperson.
A recent survey found that most German adults who are not yet vaccinated against Covid have no plans to do so.
Lothar Wieler, RKI chief, said alongside Mr Spahn, Berlin, that there is a high risk of infection for those who are not vaccinated.
“If we don’t take action now, the fourth wave will continue to bring great suffering. Many people will become severely ill and then die, and the health system will be greatly burdened.
Mr Spahn called for more thorough checks at establishments or events where only those who can show they have been vaccinated, recovered from Covid or recently tested negative are allowed to enter.
He stated that only those who have been fully vaccinated should be allowed to enter the hard-hit areas.
He said that it had nothing to do with vaccine bullying but with avoiding overuse of the healthcare system.
He also recommended that booster jabs be given at a higher rate, as the current pace is ‘insufficient’.
Angela Merkel, the outgoing Chancellor, has described the coronavirus trend as “very worrying” and indicated that she was for stricter restrictions on those who are not vaccinated
Mr Spahn’s plea for all vaccinated Germans to get a third jab after six months is however at odds with the nation’s STIKO vaccine commission, which for now is only recommending booster shots for the elderly and certain at-risk groups.
Leif Erik Sander, who is the head of a research group on infection immunology in Berlin’s Charite Hospital, said that elderly people need a booster.
He warned that around 40% of people over 70 don’t have any neutralizing antibodies to the Delta variant six months after they were vaccinated.
After several recent deaths in nursing homes, pressure is mounting to require mandatory testing.
Ulrich Weigeldt (head of the association for family doctors) demanded that all employees in nursing homes and hospitals be vaccinated against coronavirus on Thursday.
Weigeldt said that no person without a vaccine should be in contact with such vulnerable people, either professionally or as visitors. Bild is daily tabloid Bild. “This applies to senior citizen and nursing homes, as well as intensive care units.
People line up to get vaccinations in front the Malteser relief center on the Berlin fairgrounds on Wednesday
The Covid surge is occurring as Germany remains in political limbo since September’s general election. The Social Democrats, who won the election, hope to have a coalition government in place by early 2012.
The incoming coalition parties have sofar ruled out mandatory jabs, and stated that there will not be any new lockdowns – at minimum not for the vaccinated.
However, Germany’s federal system grants regional states significant powers to determine their Covid approach. This can sometimes lead into a confusing web of regulations.
Some indoor events and facilities are restricted to those who have been vaccinated, recently recovered, or tested by the regional governments. Some are tightening these rules.
Baden-Wuerttemberg in the southwestern part of Germany introduced new rules Wednesday in response to the fourth wave. This was after it had breached a threshold for occupied intensive care beds.
Adults in the state who have not been vaccinated must show a negative test for PCR to be allowed to enter many places, such as indoor dining and museums, gyms, or museums. The tests can be expensive at up to 50 euros ($58).
Friday will be a tougher Friday for the eastern state Saxony.
Unvaccinated persons would be exempted from indoor dining, leisure facilities, bars, and nightclubs under the ‘2G” plans.
Across Europe, Covid cases are on the rise, with the UK recording 41,299 infections on Wednesday.
WHO described the trend in the region as a grave concern, and warned it could lead to another half-million deaths by the beginning of next year.
Hans Kluge, WHO Europe director, stated that the current pace of transmission in the 53 European Region countries is a concern. He also said that one reliable projection would indicate ‘another half million COVID-19 deaths’ by February, if the current trajectory continues.
Kluge stated that ‘We are at an additional critical point of pandemic revival,’ Kluge said to reporters from WHO Europe headquarters, Copenhagen, Denmark. “Europe is back at pandemic’s epicenter, where it was a year ago.”
He said that health authorities now know more about the virus and have better tools for fighting it. He said that the latest surge is due to a lack of vaccination rates and relaxed prevention measures.
Kluge stated that hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have more than doubled in the 53-country region over the past week. Kluge said that the region could experience another half a million deaths from pandemics by February if that trend continues.
WHO Europe reports that the region had nearly 1.8 million weekly new cases, an increase of approximately 6% over the previous week and 24,000 COVID-19 weekly death, a 12% increase.
Kluge stated that countries in the region were at different stages of vaccination rollout, and that an average of 47% were fully vaccinated. Only eight countries had 70 percent of their population fully vaccinated.
Kluge stated that ‘We need to change our tactics. We must stop reacting to COVID-19 spikes and start preventing them from ever occurring.
WHO’s Geneva headquarters reported Wednesday that the number of cases in Europe had risen for the fifth consecutive day. This makes Europe the only continent where COVID-19 has not increased. The infection rate was highest in Europe, where there were approximately 192 new cases for every 100,000 people.
In recent weeks, many countries in Central and Eastern Europe saw their daily case numbers increase in recent weeks.
The WHO’s European Region includes 53 countries and territories. It also includes many Central Asian countries.