German Covid Cases in ICU Hit Record as Pandemic Intensifies
Germany’s Severe Covid-19 Cases Hit Peak as Pandemic Intensifies
(Bloomberg) -- Germany has more severe Covid-19 patients than at any point since the pandemic began, underscoring the urgency facing authorities to contain the disease.
Europe’s largest economy had 2,978 people being treated for the coronavirus in intensive care facilities on Monday, exceeding the previous peak of 2,933 on April 18, according to the DIVI register of German ICU capacity.
Based on current trends, severe cases will rise to 6,000 this month, straining the country’s ICU resources, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn.
“If the intensive care unit is too full, overcrowded, overloaded, then it is too late,” he said in a video interview with the Bild newspaper late Sunday.
Hospitalizations have skyrocketed across Europe, with admissions soaring beyond the peak reached last spring in numerous countries. While ICU occupancy is still below record levels in the region, the cases are rising rapidly, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to abide by hygiene and distancing rules so that health-care services don’t collapse, calling the crisis the biggest test since World War II. Germany’s coronavirus infections have climbed to a daily average of 18,652 over the past seven days from 15,553 in the previous period, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Merkel’s government imposed a month-long, partial lockdown on Nov. 2 to stem the spread of the virus. The restrictions are designed to limit social contact by closing bars and restaurants, while keeping most businesses operating.
Cases have exceeded levels during the initial wave for weeks, and hospitals are now rapidly filling. At the beginning of October, there were less than 400 Covid-19 cases in German ICUs.
Including other patients, 71% of intensive-care capacity is currently occupied. While Germany has a reserve of about 12,500 beds, including a field hospital at Berlin’s convention center, officials have warned that the country would soon run into a shortage of medical personnel if trends continue.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.