In the southwest of Germany, the infection process is getting out of control: Saarland is recording an “alarming” number of infections, and the number of Covid intensive care patients is skyrocketing. State Minister of Health Jung indicates tightened measures.
The oncoming corona autumn wave is leading to a rapidly increasing number of Covid patients in Saarland. The number of cases in the region has been well above the national average since the end of September.
"The Corona autumn wave is hitting Saarland with force and the extremely rapid development of the infection process is worrying," said State Minister of Health Magnus Jung. Nursing and medical staff in the clinics are faced with a new stress test at the beginning of the third half of the winter pandemic.
The seven-day incidence in Saarland recently rose to 1254.4 cases of infection within seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Only around 982,000 people live in Saarland - the smallest federal state apart from the city states. For comparison: The number of cases nationwide is currently 635.7.
The majority of those infected continue to suffer only mild symptoms. At the same time, however, only a fraction is tested at all. In the official statistics of the RKI, only laboratory-confirmed cases of infection are counted. In Saarland, however, the wave of contagion is also leading to strikingly clear swings in more meaningful key figures: the number of seriously ill Covid cases has recently skyrocketed. The situation is "alarming", the "Saarbrücker Zeitung" quoted the SPD politician Jung.
The new infections are currently having an impact primarily on the clinics in Saarland, according to the Ministry of Health in Saarbrücken. There, the utilization of the intensive care units is increasing significantly due to occupancy and staff shortages.
According to data from the German intensive care register, a total of 25 Covid patients had to be transferred to the intensive care unit on October 4th alone. Until recently, only one to three patients per day were added on average over several days. The development of severe Covid cases usually lags behind the number of newly detected infections by several days. As a result, the clinics have to prepare for a sustained influx of corona patients.
The situation is already tense for both the health system and the critical infrastructure in Saarland, explained Jung. A further increase in the numbers must be expected. "This week, operations that could already be planned had to be significantly reduced in order to compensate for the loss of personnel."
The state government is therefore examining "all options" to improve the situation, it said. The corona situation in Saarland should be “reassessed” in view of the rapid increase in new infections. A “change to the Saarland Corona Ordinance within the framework of the Federal Infection Protection Act or measures by the state government independently of the ordinance” are “possible”, reported the “Saarbrücker Zeitung”.
As an example, Jung cited a mask requirement in public administration buildings. "I would now like to urgently appeal to the personal responsibility of every Saarlander: actively help to contain the pandemic," said Jung. "Wear a mask indoors. Test yourself before attending events and before private meetings." He also referred to STIKO recommendations for corona vaccination and the well-known AHA rules. It was initially unclear whether further corona requirements could be prescribed.
