D.The incidence value of new corona infections in Germany rose for the fifth day in a row. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the seven-day incidence on Monday morning as 232.4. The day before it was 222.7, and a week ago it was 222.7. The value quantifies the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over a period of one week.
As the RKI now announced, citing data from the health authorities, 18,518 new infections and 68 deaths related to the corona virus were recorded within 24 hours. However, the institute pointed out that fewer people were being tested because of the holidays and that not all health authorities were forwarding data. The actual numbers could therefore be higher.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) recently said that the realistic incidence is probably two to three times higher than currently recorded by the RKI.
According to the latest information from the institute, the health authorities have recorded a total of 7,207,847 cases of infection since the start of the pandemic. The total number of registered corona deaths in Germany rose to 112,223. The institute put the number of people recovered from illness caused by the coronavirus in Germany at around 6,478,600.
In November, the federal and state governments set the so-called hospitalization incidence as the decisive benchmark for tightening the corona measures. This value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants are in hospital within seven days because of a corona infection. According to the latest report last Thursday, the nationwide hospitalization incidence was 3.15.
All developments in the live ticker:
3:30 a.m. – In Berlin, school starts with daily corona tests
After the end of the Christmas break, classes in Berlin’s schools will start again on Monday. Attendance is compulsory, the pupils must appear at the school. According to the Senate Department for Education, a regular switch to digital learning at home is not initially planned. Education Senator Astrid-Sabine Busse said on Thursday that she was relying on compulsory attendance for as long as possible. She is convinced that face-to-face teaching has clear advantages over alternate teaching.
In the first week of lessons, however, corona tests are mandatory every day, not least because of the Omikron variant, which has also spread in Berlin. The self-tests required for this are made available according to the information provided by the education administration. Senator for Education Busse announced that, however, there should be only three rapid corona tests from the second week after the holidays, as before.
2:20 a.m. – US Secretary of State Austin tested positive for Corona
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms. “As my doctor explained to me, my full vaccination status – and the booster vaccination I received in early October – meant that the infection was much milder than it would otherwise have been,” says Austin. The last time he met President Joe Biden was on December 21, more than a week before he began to experience symptoms.
1:28 am – Virologist Fauci warns of an “unprecedented” increase in Covid-19
In the US, virologist Anthony Fauci warns of a “truly unprecedented” increase in Omicron infections. The coronavirus variant could represent a serious course of the disease, especially for unvaccinated Americans. With so many cases, there is a serious risk of numerous hospital admissions, which further strain the strained health system, warned Fauci, who is a close advisor to US President Joe Biden, on the news channel CNN. “We’re going to get a lot of hospital admissions.”
Almost 400,000 new infections were registered in the USA on January 2. Around 73 percent of adults are fully vaccinated, 36.3 percent have received a booster.
1:14 am – Again protests in Schweinfurt
In Schweinfurt, Lower Franconia, opponents of the Corona measures took to the streets again. The police spoke of around 1000 participants after the actions on Sunday evening. The city had tightened the rules because of several incidents in previous protests. Unannounced gatherings have only been permanent in Schweinfurt since Wednesday, so no walks in the true sense of the word.
The police classified the actions as “peaceful”. However, one regards with concern that six participants had knives with them. According to the police, messenger services “openly called for attacks on police officers with knives”. Proceedings due to administrative offenses are said to have been initiated against 200 participants.
In the case of the unregistered actions, a larger group of people had initially gathered in the center on the market – as in earlier protests. The police prevented the crowd from protesting, said the police spokesman. As a result, many smaller groups spread out in the city center. The exact number of participants is therefore difficult to estimate, said the spokesman.
00:00 a.m. – The majority of Germans no longer trust official Corona numbers
According to a survey, a majority of German citizens distrust the current corona numbers, which depict the infection process in Germany. According to a representative Insa survey by the Newspaper “Bild” 57 percent of the participants say no to the question of whether they still trust the official infection figures.
Only 32 percent believe that the data from the Robert Koch Institute are correct. A narrow majority of 51 percent is currently not satisfied with the federal government’s corona crisis management.
On the other hand, 41 percent are satisfied with it. 58 percent of those questioned are in favor of a general vaccination requirement, 34 percent of them reject it.
11:28 pm _ The cruise ship “Mein Schiff 6” interrupts its voyage
The cruise ship “Mein Schiff 6” of the shipping company Tui Cruises is breaking off its current trip in Dubai. “The background to this are isolated cases of Covid-19 on board that were discovered during the voyage. As a purely precautionary measure and to protect guests and crew, TUI Cruises has now decided to take this short break, ”said the Hamburg-based company on Monday night.
According to the information provided by the shipping company, the voyage for the majority of the approximately 2000 passengers would have ended on Monday as planned. The involuntary break affects both those who had booked a connecting cruise and the guests who wanted to go on board in Dubai. According to the information, Tui Cruises is currently organizing return flights for all guests who would have wanted to continue their journey. “RTL.de” was the first to report on it.
As a company spokeswoman said, the cancellation initially only affects the current cruise, which should have lasted until January 10th. Should anything change in this regard, Tui Cruises wants to inform the guests in good time.
As it was also said, an extended 2G model is currently in effect on “Mein Schiff 6”. That means: All guests aged 12 and over and the 800-strong crew are fully vaccinated. In addition, the guests will be tested before and during the trip, according to the information.
9:45 p.m. – Israel expands administration of fourth corona vaccine dose
Israel expands administration of a fourth corona vaccine dose. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at a press conference on Sunday that all people over the age of 60 as well as the medical staff should now receive another booster vaccination. The Ministry of Health agreed to this in view of the spread of the Omikron variant.
“The omicron wave is here and we need to protect ourselves,” said Bennett. On Thursday, the Ministry of Health approved a fourth corona vaccination for people with a weakened immune system. This makes Israel one of the first countries in the world to administer the fourth corona vaccine doses. Shortly thereafter, the campaign was extended to residents of old people’s homes and geriatric wards in Israel.