Surge of infection puts Berlin and Paris on high alert
A RAPID rise in coronavirus infections in Germany yesterday has caused alarm, while hospitals in Paris were told to “mobilise all resources” to treat Covid patients.
Jens Spahn, the German health minister, said he was “very concerned” after the number of daily infections rose above 4,000 for the first time since April.
So far Germany has avoided a second wave of the virus, but the infection rate has begun to rise sharply in recent days, and jumped to 4,058 yesterday, compared with 2,828 on Wednesday.
“There is barely a country in Europe that has come through the crisis as well as Germany so far. But we must not gamble away what we’ve achieved,” Mr Spahn warned. “We have to prevent the pandemic from reaching a point where we lose control. We’re not there yet.”
“We don’t know how the situation in Germany will develop in the weeks ahead,” Prof Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s centre for disease control, said. “We could see more than 10,000 cases a day. It’s possible that the virus will spread out of control. But I hope it doesn’t.”
Despite the sharp rise, the weekly infection rate in Germany is still far lower than in most of Europe, with just 20.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Only 470 coronavirus patients are currently in intensive care. But there are fears the numbers could rise and the authorities called on people to adhere to limits on social gatherings. “We have never even come close to overloading the German health system,” Andreas Gassen, head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, said.
“My message is short: we are prepared but success is not certain. You can help the health system by acting rationally.”
In France, which is already in the grip of a second wave, authorities issued a general mobilisation call to hospitals in Paris after the number of coronavirus patients in intensive care beds surpassed 40pc in the French capital.
The move comes a day after health authorities reported a record 24-hour rise in new infections, with almost 19,000 additional cases.
The decision to launch a “reinforced white plan” came with the French government due to place Lyon and Lille on maximum alert, paving the way for new restrictions.
Paris and Marseille are already on maximum alert level – one step away from total lockdown. Restrictions have been tightened, with cafés and bars shut for two weeks and restaurants told to follow new sanitary protocols.
“The virus has been spreading faster in recent weeks,” Emmanuel Macron, the president, told French television on Wednesday.
“In places where it is spreading too fast, especially where it is spreading among the elderly who are most at risk, and where there are more and more intensive care beds being occupied, we must proceed to more restrictions. We are not in a normal situation, and we won’t be for several months.”
(© Daily Telegraph, London)