A week and a half after the start of the Oktoberfest, the corona numbers in Munich are increasing faster and faster. On a weekly basis, the incidence has risen by almost 77 percent to 424.9, according to figures from the Robert Koch Institute from Tuesday morning at 3:08 a.m.
Since the health authorities report practically no new cases to the RKI on weekends, which the RKI can include in the figures for the next morning, Tuesday is usually the first day of the week on which there are significant increases in the incidences. A connection between the increase and the Oktoberfest can hardly be proven at the moment, but it is obvious: there was also a significant increase in the incidences at other folk festivals around a week and a half after the start. Often these were then increased for a good week.
The increase is also noticeable in hospitals. As the city of Munich reports on its website, as of September 26, 268 beds in Munich hospitals are occupied with confirmed COVID-19 cases, 48 more than in the previous week. Of the 268 patients, 33 are being treated in intensive care. In comparison: At the peak of the third corona wave in April 2021, 615 corona patients were treated in intensive care in Munich alone. There is no acute cause for concern, but what is happening must be monitored further.
Significance of the numbers unclear
Experts had also predicted a Wiesn wave in the run-up to the Oktoberfest. In the meantime, however, the incidence figures have lost some of their meaningfulness. Experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of corona cases not recorded by the RKI – mainly because by far not all infected people have a PCR test done. Only positive PCR tests count in the statistics. In addition, late registrations and transmission problems can lead to the distortion of individual daily values.
However, the trend observed in Munich can also be transferred to Germany. An increase in corona numbers of 43.1 percent compared to the previous week can be observed across Bavaria and 29.4 percent across Germany. In numbers, this means 89,282 newly reported corona infections compared to 60,237 last Tuesday. The hospitalization rate compared to the previous week rose by 48.99 percent across Germany. There are currently around 10,000 people in German hospitals who have tested positive for the corona virus. However, the virus is not the cause of hospitalization in all of these patients.