The Third COVID-19 Wave Will Be Worse, German Virologists Warn

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) President Lothar Wieler on Friday warned that the third wave of the pandemic will be more devastating in Germany and that the only option to break it will be to reduce contacts to a minimum.

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During an assessment of the epidemiological situation in his country, he noted that the incidence per 100,000 population of COVID-19 has risen from 70 to 119 in less than two weeks. This has resulted in 21,573 new infections in the last 24 hours and over 4,000 additional deaths compared to last Friday.

"The effect of vaccination is reduced by the current increase in new infections," Health Minister Jens Spahn warned and recalled that all international examples show that "the higher the incidence, the less the contribution of vaccines to a decrease in the numbers".

He called on subnational governments to administer the vaccines quickly because their effect "will still take time" to be felt at the population level.

In this context, Spahn stressed that the containment of the new wave of the pandemic is not compatible with the plans of some regions which seek to test models of reopening public life.

The Federal Press and Information Office Director Steffen Seibert said his government is interested in minimizing imported contagions and analyzing the legal feasibility of temporarily banning arrivals in the country at Easter.

As of Friday morning, Germany had reported 2,732,130 COVID-19 cases and 76,116 related deaths. So far, 10 percent of residents in this European country have been vaccinated.