Thursday, November 18, 2021
The next high
RKI reports over 65,000 new infections
The latest figures from the RKI illustrate the exponential growth in the number of infections: Just a week ago, the number of new infections reported cracked the 50,000 mark for the first time. There are now more than 65,000 infections. The number of undiscovered cases is likely to be at least twice as high.
The number of new corona infections has risen sharply and has exceeded 60,000 for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The health authorities have reported the maximum value of 65,371 new positive tests to the Robert Koch Institute. Exactly one week ago, more than 50,000 new infections were counted for the first time. The number of new infections registered fluctuates significantly over the course of the week, especially because fewer tests are carried out on the weekend and not all health departments are occupied.
The RKI gives the 7-day incidence at 336.9 – also a high. For comparison: the previous day the value was 319.5, a week ago it was 249.1. In the previous month it was still in double digits at 74.4. The number of deaths is also increasing, although not at the same rate as infections. According to the RKI, 264 other people died in connection with an infection. A week ago there were 235. In total, the pandemic in Germany has so far claimed 98,538 deaths.
5,195,321 people have now been proven to be infected with Sars-CoV-2. 4,564,200 of them are considered to have recovered. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections are not recognized. In an online discussion with the Saxon state government, RKI boss Wieler spoke of a high level of underreporting. According to him, the actual number of infections is currently around twice or three times as high as known.
The number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days – the most important parameter for a possible tightening of the corona restrictions – the RKI stated on Wednesday as 5.15. On Tuesday, the hospitalization incidence was 4.86. With the indicator it must be taken into account that hospital admissions are sometimes reported with delay. A nationwide threshold value from when the situation can be viewed critically is not provided for the incidence of hospitalization, among other things because of large regional differences. The previous high was around 15.5 around Christmas time. The numbers for intensive care unit occupancy rose sharply, Wieler warned in the online discussion: “There is an emergency in our country”.
Note: The RKI figures usually deviate slightly from the case data that ntv.de reports daily in the evening. The ntv.de data team has direct access to the registration figures from the federal states as published by the local ministries and authorities. The RKI, on the other hand, is bound to the legally prescribed reporting channels, which can lead to a delay.
In addition, the respective daily values map different recording periods: the ntv evaluation collects the country information published by the evening and uses this to calculate a daily status of the reported number of cases, which is usually published from 8 p.m. onwards. The RKI’s recording system, on the other hand, takes into account incoming reports up to midnight, with the current data status being announced the following morning.