South Africa is the focus of the new corona wave in Africa and reports a new high for new infections. The tourism group Rewe sees “a lot of catching up to do” when it comes to travel. All developments in the live blog.
04:40 am
Nationwide seven-day incidence drops below 5
The nationwide seven-day incidence of new corona infections has fallen below five cases per 100,000 inhabitants. As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in the morning, citing information from the health authorities, the value fell to 4.9. On Friday it was 5.0 and on Saturday last week it was 5.9.
As the RKI further announced, 671 new corona infections and 16 deaths related to the virus were registered within 24 hours. The total number of corona cases recorded in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic is 3,730,353, the number of corona deaths is 91,023. The RKI puts the number of those recovered from a corona infection at around 3,627,800.
03:28 am
South Africa reports a new high in new infections
South Africa has registered a new high in daily corona infections. The National Institute for Infectious Diseases announced that 24,270 new corona cases were reported within 24 hours. This means that 2,019,826 infections have now been detected in South Africa.
The previous daily high was reached in January with 21,980 new infections. The number of corona deaths rose to 61,332 on Friday with 303 other victims. The country is “in the eye of the storm of the third corona wave,” said Vice Minister of Health Joe Phaahla at a press conference. The number of new infections every day in the past two weeks had exceeded the level during the first two waves of the pandemic.
In South Africa, too, the increase in new infections is attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant. According to the WHO, South Africa is currently the focus of the new corona wave on the African continent.
3:06 am
Tourism group: bookings above 2019 level
The Cologne-based retail and tourism group Rewe sees a significant recovery in the travel business. “There is a lot of catching up to do after the many months of restrictions,” says Rewe boss Lionel Souque of the Rheinische Post. The company currently sees bookings received during the week that are above the level of 2019. Still, 2021 will remain a difficult year because people book later than in other years.
12:50 am
General practitioners: Great additional effort due to the STIKO recommendation
General practitioners complain that the new recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) on cross-vaccination with AstraZeneca presents them with enormous challenges. “Patients are insecure, they ask which vaccine they will receive with the second vaccination and want to bring their appointment forward accordingly. For them, of course – especially with a view to the upcoming summer vacation – it makes a big difference whether they stay nine to twelve weeks wait for your second vaccination or just four, “said the federal chairman of the German Association of General Practitioners, Ulrich Weigeldt, the editorial network Germany. The adjustment of the recommendation caused “enormous additional effort” in many practices on the first day.
The vaccination commission surprisingly announced on Thursday that people who had received a first dose of the corona vaccine from Astrazeneca should in future receive an mRNA vaccine like the one from Biontech or Moderna as a second syringe, regardless of age.