According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the current wave of corona infections could now be at its peak.
"The peak of the wave has probably been reached, but the infection pressure remains very high with more than 1.5 million Covid 19 cases transmitted to the RKI within a week," writes the institute in its weekly report on Thursday evening.
The summit may already have been passed.
The RKI comes to the assessment because of a slight decrease in the number of cases in a weekly comparison.
According to the report, the proportion of the omicron subtype BA.2 in a sample, which has been growing for weeks, has continued to rise: according to the most recent available data for the week before last to around 81 percent (week before: around 73 percent).
BA.2 is considered more transmissible than the subtype of omicron that previously predominated.
The RKI continues to observe different developments in the age groups: the incidence is declining in a weekly comparison among younger people between the ages of 15 and 34, but increasing among older people between the ages of 60 and 85.
In particular, the RKI called on risk groups and very old people over the age of 70 to protect themselves against a serious illness with the second booster vaccination recommended by the Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko).