translated from Spanish: Institute of Virology began the fourth wave of covid in Germany

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) of virology officially kicks off the fourth wave of the pandemic in Germany, where the cumulative incidence in seven days stands at 48.8 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 population, up from 44.2 yesterday and 30.1 a week ago. The RKI points out in its weekly report that the decrease in incidence observed between the end of April and the end of June has stopped and that infections have risen again since the beginning of July and “thus grow significantly sooner and faster than last year, when comparable incidences were reached only in October”. In addition, the percentage of tests with a positive PCR test result carried out in laboratories continues to increase, reaching 6% between 9 and 15 August, compared with 4% the previous week. Young age groups are the most affected by infections and where the percentages of positives are by far the highest.” This clearly shows the onset of the fourth wave, which is gaining pace mainly due to infections in the young adult population,” says the RKI. Also the number of hospitalized with covid-19 is rising again and the majority of cases are in the age range between 35 and 59 years. The Delta variant, predominant in the country, is responsible for up to 99% of infections, while the rest of the cases are attributable to the Alfa variant.The RKI considers that the risk of infection remains “high” among the un vaccinated population or with only one dose and “moderate” among those with the complete regimen. Until Wednesday, the 63.7? % of the population had been vaccinated, 58.2? % with full guideline. Health authorities reported 9,280 new infections in the last 24 hours – up from 5,578 a week ago – and 13 deaths – 19 last Friday – while active cases in Germany stand at around 67,700.

Original source in Spanish