Delta variant: Germany has entered its fourth wave of Covid | Young people are the most affected

The latest epidemiological data from Germany they indicated that this country entered its fourth wave of Covid cases, product of infections by Delta variant. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the cumulative incidence over the past week is 48.8 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which speaks of a worrying increase in the number of patients.

The weekly assessment carried out by this virology center, the most important in this country, had shown a drop in the incidence observed between the end of April and the end of June. But this trend has stopped.

In early July, infections increased again and “therefore grow significantly earlier and faster than last year, whereas in October only comparable incidences were reached, indicated the study which officially launched the fourth wave of the pandemic in Germany.

Increased contagion among young people

The numbers speak volumes: the percentage of positive PCR tests performed in the laboratory continues to increase, and between August 9 and 15, it rose to 6% against 4 the previous week.

“This clearly shows the start of the fourth wave, which is accelerating mainly due to infections in the young adult population, ”said RKI.

Youth groups are the most affected and where the percentages of positives are by far the highest. In addition, the number of hospitalized patients with covid-19 is increasing again and the majority of cases are in the age group between 35 and 59 years.

99% of cases are with the Delta variant

The variant originating in India is the predominant variant in Germany. You are responsible up to 99 percent of infections, while the rest of the cases are attributable to the Alpha variant, according to the RKI.

For this reason, the institute estimated that the risk of contagion remains “high” among the unvaccinated population or with a single dose and “moderate” among those with the full regimen.

The number of infections

Until wednesday, 63.7% of the population had been vaccinated, 58.2 with the full guideline.

Health authorities notified 9,280 new infections in the last 24 hours -of 5,578 a week ago- and 13 deaths -19 last Friday-, while active cases in Germany stand at around 67,700.