“Moderate” instead of “high”: RKI downgrades corona risk

Status: 02/03/2023 07:42 a.m

Many federal states have lifted the obligation to isolate, and there is no longer a requirement to wear a mask on buses and trains. The Robert Koch Institute is now also reassessing the corona risk.

Fewer infections, milder courses and a broad population immunity: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has downgraded the corona risk from “high” to “moderate”. “The current risk of Covid-19 for the health of the population in Germany is assessed as moderate overall,” says the Corona weekly report of the RKI on Thursday evening.

Previously, there had been talk of a high risk for a long time.

Protective measures still make sense

However, the RKI writes on its risk assessment website that it will be upgraded again if the situation worsens. It makes sense to continue to comply with recommendations for protection against infection: for example, you should stay at home if you are sick, wear a mask indoors and air it out frequently.

The background is also other respiratory pathogens, which are expected to become more widespread in the coming weeks. According to the RKI, older people with previous illnesses or a lack of immune protection have the greatest risk of severe courses. Younger people could continue to develop long-term effects. This means that avoiding a corona infection “basically makes sense”, it said.

7-day incidence increases slightly

The number of corona cases confirmed in the laboratory and reported to the RKI is still increasing, albeit at a low level. The nationwide 7-day incidence increased by 16 percent compared to the week before, according to the weekly report. The decline in severe corona cases with acute respiratory infections weakened somewhat. According to the report, the number of Covid 19 intensive care patients continued to fall significantly.

The proportions of different virus variants continue to rise in random tests. According to the latest data from the week before last, the XBB.1.5 hybrid variant, which dominates in the USA, has six percent in Germany. The RKI also assumes a further increase for certain sublines of BA.2.75.

According to the RKI report, a mixed form of omicron and delta variant called XAY was recently put under surveillance by the European disease control agency ECDC. So far, it has rarely been detected in Germany and is only spreading slowly, it said. There have been a total of 36 XAY records since the second week of November.

It is not the first time that a mixed variant of omicron and delta has been discovered.

Which Corona rules apply from today?

Dietrich Karl Mäurer, ARD Berlin, February 1, 2023 at 4:15 p.m

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