December 25, 2021
1 min read

Germany Struggles to Trace Covid Chains

Germany is bracing for a new wave of Covid-19 pandemic, caused by the more infectious Omicron variant, to hit the country, reports Asian Lite News

A large proportion of public health departments in Germany have already stopped contact tracing for people infected with Covid-19 due to overload, said Ute Teichert, the federal chairwoman of public health physicians,.

“Comprehensive tracking is almost not happening at all right now,” Teichert told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), adding that several federal states such as Baden-Wuerttemberg, Berlin and Hamburg “even completely suspended contact searches”, Xinhua news agency reported.

Germany is bracing for a new wave of Covid-19 pandemic, caused by the more infectious Omicron variant, to hit the country.

An employee checks a visitor’s certificate of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 at an entrance of a shopping center in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Stefan Zeitz/IANS)

The Omicron wave could even worsen staff shortages in the country’s healthcare system.

“Because of the Omicron variant, we are running into a situation in Germany where health departments will eventually not be able to compensate for sick staff,” she said.

ALSO READ: Germany begins vaccine drive for kids

After introducing stricter health measures, Germany’s Covid-19 incidence rate has been declining for around two weeks and fell to 265.8 infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week, down from around 332 last week, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Friday.

People walk in a shopping mall in Berlin, capital of Germany. (Str/Xinhua/IANS)

Daily infections also declined and dropped to 35,431 recorded cases within one day, around 15,500 less than one week ago, according to the RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.

But the RKI warned that it is possible that only an incomplete picture of the epidemiological situation is given.

Lower testing and reporting activity should be expected during the Christmas vacations and until New Year’s Day, the RKI noted.

ALSO READ: Italy, Germany bow to EU fiscal rules

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