C.According to the President of the Robert Koch Institute, orona outbreaks with the new Omikron variant are on a different level than before. “The outbreaks at Omikron are impressive. Very many people who are in a room with an infected person can become infected. Many people also get sick, “said Lothar Wieler in an interview with the”Editorial network Germany“(” RND “). “That is a different dimension than what we know from Delta.” Delta has been the predominant coronavirus variant in Germany for months.
Vaccinated people who were vaccinated a long time ago could also get sick and contribute to virus transmission, Wieler told the “RND”. According to previous knowledge, the vaccination protects “very well” against severe courses. The risk of the virus spreading increases with the number of people in a room and the longer they have been in contact. “That’s why there are defined hotspots. These are events that are intensely celebrated – such as clubs and discos, but also large private celebrations such as weddings, ”said Wieler.
The severity of the disease caused by the new variant cannot yet be conclusively assessed, Wieler affirmed. “So far there is no evidence that the disease is more severe. However, there is currently no convincing evidence that they are lighter than the Delta variant. ”He expects a valid assessment in the coming weeks.
The Omikron variant has meanwhile arrived in all federal states. Even if the majority of the infections are still caused by the delta variant of the coronavirus, the number of detected omicron cases has increased significantly in recent weeks, writes the RKI in its weekly report on Thursday evening.
By December 21, 441 Omicron infections confirmed by genome sequencing had been transmitted. According to a specific PCR test, it is suspected in 1438 cases. In Germany, however, only a small part of the positive samples are tested for Omikron.
All developments in the live ticker:
03:23 a.m. – Bavaria’s Minister of Health demands a renewed determination of the epidemic situation
In view of the spread of the Omikron virus variant, Bavaria’s Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek (CSU) has called for the Bundestag to re-establish the epidemic situation of national importance. “I think it is a big mistake that the federal government let the epidemic emergency run out,” said the chairman of the conference of health ministers of the “Rheinische Post”.
03:01 am – Bouffier: “A vaccination register would help us a lot”
Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) has regretted that there is no vaccination register in Germany. “In my opinion, this is a misunderstood data protection”, said the head of government of the news agency dpa “A vaccination register would help us a lot.” However, it would take years before such a database would have been set up. The German Ethics Council recently recommended a secure national vaccination register.
2:39 a.m. – New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, New York shrunk due to pandemic
New York’s famous New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square is shrinking drastically due to the pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday that instead of around 58,000 people as usual, only 15,000 are allowed on the square this year – there is also a mask and vaccination certificate. The additional safety measures “will ensure that the fully vaccinated amount heralds the New Year safely and healthily,” said de Blasio.
01:01 a.m. – Boris Johnson calls for testing and boosting in a Christmas speech
In his Christmas address, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on his compatriots to be tested for the coronavirus and vaccinated before family reunions. “Although the time to buy gifts is theoretically running out, there is still one wonderful thing to give to your families and the whole country – and that is to get vaccinated,” said Johnson, according to a speech in his address to the nation on Christmas Eve.
01:01 a.m. – Poll: Majority for nationwide lockdown
In a recent survey, a slim majority of German citizens spoke out in favor of a renewed nationwide lockdown to combat the corona pandemic. When asked whether they would think it was right or wrong if there were a nationwide lockdown for the general population, 55 percent answered “clearly right” or “rather right”, as the newspapers of the Essen Funke media group announced (Friday). 38 percent, however, would find such a step wrong, seven percent were undecided.
According to the information, more than 5,000 respondents over the age of 18 took part in the online survey of the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the newspapers of the Essen Funke media group between December 21 and 23.
01:00 a.m. – Federal Research Minister warns of vaccine patents being released
Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger has spoken out against the release of patents for corona vaccines. “This would jeopardize vaccine development,” said the FDP politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Companies do a long research and invest a lot before they get approval. A release of the patents would destroy that. ”Another question is whether the production capacities could not be increased further.
12:43 am – Civil protection gives the all-clear for critical infrastructure because of Omikron
The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Aid (BBK) in Bonn does not expect critical infrastructures such as electricity, water or food supplies to be endangered by the significantly more contagious Omikron variant of the coronavirus, given the expected wave of infections. “We have mastered four waves, which were already massive, without restrictions – with the exception of the intensive care units,” said a spokesman for the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND, Friday editions).
12:34 a.m. – Many health departments are stopping tracing for staff shortages
A large part of the health authorities in Germany can no longer guarantee the tracking of contacts with corona infected people due to a lack of staff. “At the moment there is almost no nationwide follow-up,” said the federal chairman of the doctors of the public health service (BVÖGD), Ute Teichert, according to a preliminary report of the “editorial network Germany”. Several countries have even completely suspended the search for contact persons, for example Baden-Württemberg, Berlin and Hamburg. The situation is very tense because the health authorities have been working over the limit for a long time. The consequence of the overload is the worsening shortage of personnel, according to the BVÖGD chairwoman.
11:48 p.m. – Ecuador imposes vaccination requirements for all residents aged five and over
In order to overcome the corona pandemic, Ecuador has decided to make vaccinations mandatory – and this is unique in the world for all residents aged five and over. The new measure was announced on Thursday by the Ministry of Health, which at the same time emphasized the constitutionality of the mandatory vaccination. Exceptions should only be made for people who have proven health reasons against vaccination.