On Tuesday, the Werra-Meißner district also got the unpleasant hotspot status.

So far, this rural region was the only one in Hesse without a seven-day incidence of 350 for three days in a row.

This relative calm is now over.

This follows from the Corona Bulletin of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Accordingly, seven counties and large cities now have a four-digit incidence.

According to the health department, the Frankfurt value given on the website of the Robert Koch Institute is not correct.

Thorsten Winter

Business editor and internet coordinator in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Marie Lisa Kehler

Deputy head of the regional section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

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Despite the sharp increase in the number of infections, no new corona specifications are planned in Hesse.

There are no tightening, said Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) on Monday evening in Wiesbaden after the end of the federal-state consultations, according to the dpa.

However, since it is not yet possible to estimate how the corona situation will develop, the current specifications remain.

The head of government emphasized that the current course will be maintained, and that caution must be exercised further.

According to Bouffier, the Corona regulation currently in force in Hesse applies until February 12.

Meanwhile, there is interesting news from Frankfurt University: A new study by scientists from Goethe University and the University of Kent shows that the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant is less good at cellular defense mechanisms ("the interferon response") against viruses can block than the Delta variant.

In addition, cell culture data suggest that eight key anti-COVID-19 agents also inhibit proliferation of the omicron variant.

Data transfer problems

The cities and districts with a four-digit incidence are Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Offenbach and Frankfurt as well as the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hochtaunus and Main-Taunus. In Wiesbaden and Darmstadt, the key figure fell overnight, while in Frankfurt it rose. The value for the Main metropolis is the fifth highest in Hesse, after the city had reported by far the most new infections within seven days among 100,000 inhabitants by the middle of last week. The education and science union is concerned about the situation in schools.

Regardless, the following should be considered: In Frankfurt, the incidence is likely to be significantly higher than indicated by the RKI.

The reason for this is still a problem with the RKI reporting software Surfnet, according to the health department.

After an update, according to a spokesman for the office, problems arose in several health authorities, which made it difficult to report the data.

A solution to the problem is being worked on at full speed.

However, the spokesman continued, the reporting program that the RKI works with is outdated and was never designed for so many offices nationwide to access it at the same time. 

According to a spokesman for the Frankfurt Health Department, more than 6,000 positive reports were received this weekend alone, which have not yet been reported.

Not every report hides a new case.

Some are PCR tests from already registered people trying to test their way out of quarantine.

In other cases, the labs have sequenced the samples.

This result also comes in as a double message.