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Lothar Wieler, President of the Robert Koch Institute, did not have good news for the Germans at a press conference on Thursday.

The corona situation in this country remains very tense, he emphasized.

In the past few weeks, the “Lockdown Light” measures have succeeded in stabilizing the number of cases - an initial success, as Wieler emphasized.

"Without the measures, the numbers would be much worse."

Nevertheless, too many people would still be infected with Sars-CoV-2.

“The numbers are still too high.

They are not sinking noticeably, ”emphasized Wieler.

"Too many people are still infected".

“We are also seeing that the number of severe courses and deaths is increasing from week to week.

And we have to expect many more ”.

This is a development that was feared given the persistently high case numbers.

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The number of new infections must be reduced significantly.

“We can only do this together!” Emphasized Wieler.

Many infections could still be prevented with the AHA + L rules: distance, hygiene, wear a respirator, ventilation.

"They also apply at home if the neighbor comes by for a minute".

The virus knows no borders and no time.

Wieler is aware that this is "exhausting and frustrating" - but it is necessary, "especially for grandma and grandpa".

These measures are necessary until people are vaccinated.

New ideas do not have to be constantly developed to keep the pandemic in check - rather, measures have to be implemented consistently.

“The focus is on people's behavior”.

Meetings should continue to be avoided - including events that use rapid tests, for example.

These are always only a snapshot and not always 100% reliable.

Outbreaks in old people's and nursing homes are steadily increasing

At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect old people's and nursing homes, the outbreaks in such facilities are steadily increasing, which is of great concern to the RKI - since the death rate is highest in the older age group.

“It's all very dangerous,” said Wieler.

"Almost every fifth person who is infected in old people's and nursing homes dies".

The nationwide incidence is currently 134.1 and has hardly returned in recent weeks.

In the city-states of Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen there is a slight downward trend - but the number of cases in eastern Germany is increasing significantly, especially in Thuringia and Saxony.

According to RKI figures, almost 4,000 people are currently being treated in intensive care units across Germany for a Covid 19 disease.