BERLIN (GERMANY) – The head of the German doctors’ union said in an interview on Tuesday that the country is already grappling with a second wave of infections and risks squandering its success achieved earlier by violating social distancing norms.
In recent weeks, the number of infections has steadily risen and health authorities blame lack of hygiene and laxity in maintaining social distancing norms for the rise.
“We are already in a second, shallow upswing,” Susanne Johna, president of Marburger Bund, representing doctors in the country, told the Augsburger Allgemeine.
She said that relaxation of curbs and the urge to return to normalcy would erode the success the country had achieved in stemming the spread of the virus when it first broke out. Johna urged people to stick to social distancing norms and maintain hygiene and wear masks.
Data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases revealed on Tuesday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country rose by 879 to reach 211,281. The reported death toll rose by eight to 9,156, the tally showed.
She said that the hospitals were prepared and would ensure intensive care beds are available to coronavirus patients on a staggered bases. It would also reduce the number of admissions to normal wards.
There are close to 21,000 intensive care beds in Germany of which 12,200 are currently free.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field