The number of new corona infections has risen sharply again and exceeded 50,000 for the first time in the corona pandemic. The health authorities in Germany reported the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) the maximum value of 50,196 new corona infections within one day. This is evident from the numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard from Thursday morning at 3:40 a.m. The previous day there were 39 676 infections and exactly one week ago the value was 33,949 infections. The value on Wednesday was already a high.

The nationwide seven-day incidence also reached a peak again.

The RKI gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Thursday morning at 249.1.

It has thus risen to a high for the fourth day in a row.

On Wednesday the value was 232.1.

For comparison: a week ago the incidence was 154.5, in the previous month it was 66.5.

According to the new information, 235 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours.

A week ago there were 165 deaths.

The RKI has counted 4,894,250 detected infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections are not detected.

Operations that can be planned must be postponed

The number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days - the most important parameter for a possible tightening of the corona restrictions - was given by the RKI on Wednesday as 4.61 (Tuesday: 4.31).

With the indicator it must be taken into account that hospital admissions are sometimes reported with delay.

A nationwide threshold value from when the situation can be viewed critically is not provided for the incidence of hospitalization, among other things because of large regional differences.

The previous high was around 15.5 around Christmas time.

The RKI stated the number of those who had recovered at 4,432,600.

The number of people who died with or with a proven infection with Sars-CoV-2 rose to 97,198.

Overloading the intensive care units due to the sharp rise in new corona infections can no longer be averted from the perspective of the German Hospital Association. "The value of 4,000 occupied Covid intensive care beds can practically no longer be avoided," said CEO Gerald Gaß of the editorial network in Germany. The consequence is that clinics "now have to postpone the predictable operations immediately".

In more and more federal states, the intensive care units were reaching their limits.

For “all” hospitals, this means “that they have to limit their services regardless of the number of Covid patients in their own house in order to be able to step in for overburdened clinics”.

Germany is "in a very critical phase of the pandemic".

For the hospital staff, the coming weeks and “probably months” would be another enormous effort.

Third vaccination has to come faster

The intensive care doctor Uwe Janssens told the RND that he assumed that the number of Covid patients with vaccination breakthroughs in intensive care units would continue to increase.

“Currently, almost 44 percent of patients over 60 with Covid-19 in intensive care units have a breakthrough vaccination.

That has increased significantly and by leaps and bounds, ”Janssens told the RND.