“A lot of hospital admissions”: expert advice raises the alarm

The incidences in Germany are increasing so quickly that medical care in some regions is likely to be restricted very soon. This is the conclusion reached by the Federal Government’s expert council – and calls on politicians to take action.

The Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council warns of the consequences for the health system in view of the rapid increase in corona incidences: “Under the currently applicable contact restrictions, the incidences continue to rise and it can be assumed that medical care will be restricted at least regionally,” it says in a third statement by the Council of Experts published by the Federal Government in the evening. “This can result in relevant hazards, for example in the care of patients with other diseases,” said the committee. In other critical areas, staff shortages are already noticeable.

The Expert Council expressly warns against feeling reassured in view of the low hospitalization rate: “The hospitalization rate is expected to be lower than that of the Delta variant, but would have to be a whole order of magnitude – about a factor of 10 – lower than last winter in order to reach the expected high level To compensate for the number of cases and not to overload the health system.” However, according to the experts, this cannot be assumed. “Accordingly, if the incidence continues to rise, a large number of hospital admissions are to be expected.”

appeal to politics

The committee expressly called on politicians to take action: If further “critical marks” were reached, such as a high hospitalization rate, further protective measures would be necessary. These measures should therefore “be prepared now so that they can be implemented without delay”. At the same time, the scientists also showed a perspective for reducing the corona restrictions: If the basic immunity in the population increases and the number of new infections and the number of Covid 19 patients in hospitals decreases, the contact restrictions should be gradually lifted again will be driven back.