Hospitals in Germany reach crisis point
Despite urgent warnings from doctors and scientists, the federal and state governments are sticking to their policy of opening up the economy and are refusing to take urgently needed measures, such as the immediate closure of schools and businesses. The result is a dramatic situation in Germany’s hospitals, where, within a very short time, the care of seriously ill patients will no longer be guaranteed.
The seven-day incidence rate is currently 134.2 infections per 100,000 people per day—and rising. On April 1, almost 22,700 new infections occurred. With 232 deaths, almost 50 more people died than a week earlier. One reason for the steady increase in infections is the spread of the much more infectious and aggressive B.1.1.7 strain, which now causes almost 90 percent of infections in Germany and thus contributes to the increase in severe illness.