The seven-day coronavirus incidence rate continues to rise in Germany. A leading epidemiologist has criticised the easing of restrictions as “irrational” in view of the exponential growth in the number of infections. Intensive care doctors are calling for partial lockdown measures to be put back in place. 

“Totally irrational” to ease restrictions now, says RKI epidemiologist

The number of new coronavirus cases in Germany has grown 20 percent since last week, the Robert Koch Institute reported on Tuesday morning. Health authorities reported 5.480 new cases of COVID-19 to the RKI in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning. Exactly one week ago, 4.252 new infections were reported. The nationwide seven-day incidence rate accordingly rose to 83,7 (up from 82,9 on Monday). 

In view of the rising numbers, RKI epidemiologist Dirk Brockmann told German broadcaster ARD that the decision to loosen lockdown restrictions, just as the “British” coronavirus variant is causing an explosion in case numbers, was alarming. 

“We are exactly on the flank of the third wave,” he said. “That can no longer be disputed. And, at this point, we have eased the restrictions and that is speeding up the exponential growth. It’s been totally irrational to loosen up here. It’s just fuelling this exponential growth.”

He said that the government needed to take a regionally-differentiated view. “There are communities that have an incidence below 10 and others that are above 300 to 400 and have very strong exponential growth,” he said.

Currently, the districts most affected by coronavirus are Greiz in Thuringia (where the incidence rate is 490,8) and Vogtlandkreis in Saxony (307,1). The lowest incidence values are being recorded in Cochem-Zell (11,4) and Kaiserslautern (14,2) in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Intensive care doctors plead for return to partial lockdown

Brockmann’s comments came a day after Germany’s association of intensive care doctors called for an “immediate return” to partial lockdown, to avoid another strong resurgence of coronavirus infections. 

“From the data we currently have and the spread of the British mutation, we would argue strongly to return immediately into a lockdown to avoid a strong third wave,” Christian Karagiannidis, director of Germany’s intensive care register (DIVI), told broadcaster RBB. 

At the very least, the DIVI is calling for the “emergency brake” - the revocation of relaxations which the federal and state governments agreed to apply in the event of increasing infection rates - to be implemented consistently nationwide, or risk intensive care units in hospitals becoming overloaded. 

At the weekend, the RKI warned in its management report that Germany was at the beginning of a wave of exponential growth in case numbers, and that the seven-day incidence rate could rise to 350 or even 500 per 100.000 inhabitants by Easter - significantly more than the previous record of 214, which was reached at the end of December.