Germany’s disease control and prevention agency, the Robert Koch Institute, has issued a warning about the speed at which the coronavirus incidence rate is rising, compared to last summer. 

Infections rising in Germany despite vaccination rate

The seven-day incidence rate in Germany (the number of new infections per 100.000 residents every seven days) is currently increasing - several weeks earlier, and more quickly, than it did in summer 2020, just before the second wave of coronavirus kicked off in the federal republic. 

As the Robert Koch Institute announced in its weekly report on Thursday evening, the number of reported infections rose by 21 percent between the 29th and 30th weeks of 2021, while the seven-day incidence rate rose to 20,4 on Friday morning. This means infections are rising earlier and more quickly than they did last year, “despite the increasing vaccination rate.” Health authorities can no longer trace all chains of infections, the RKI warned. 

Most infections among 20 to 24-year-olds

Currently, the incidence rate is rising most noticeably among 10 to 34-year-olds, although the trend is observable in all age groups up to 49, according to the RKI. Most infections last week were recorded in the 20 to 24 age bracket. 

Thankfully, the rising incidence rate has not yet caused an influx of patients into German hospitals. The RKI writes that the figures for hospital patients and treatments in intensive care units are still at a low level, with 392 people currently in ICU. 

The data also shows that the Delta variant is now clearly the dominant variant in Germany, accounting for 97 percent of all cases. The so-called Lambda variant, which was first identified in Peru and shows some vaccine resistance, is currently not detectable in Germany.