The nationwide seven-day incidence is according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Saturday morning at 51.6 and thus for the first time since May again above 50. The previous day, the number of within seven days reported Corona new infections per 100,000 inhabitants still at 48.8. The last time the indicator, which is important for assessing the infection situation, reached a value of over 50 was on May 25 (58.4); the lowest value of the summer was reported at the beginning of July (4.9 on July 3 and 6).

According to the RKI, the fourth wave of the Corona pandemic has begun in Germany. Infections mainly affect younger people, the institute's weekly report said Thursday. Despite the vaccinations, the Corona incidence will remain an important value for estimating the upcoming occupancy of intensive care beds in the fall and winter, experts had recently explained. From 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, "a considerable load of intensive care units" with more than 3,000 intensive care patients at the same time is to be expected again, unless the vaccination rate is still significantly increased, according to the analysis presented last week.

Health authorities in Germany recently reported 8092 new Corona infections to the RKI within one day. That's according to Saturday morning's figures, which reflect the status of the RKI dashboard as of 04:05. A week ago, the value for Germany had been 5644 infections.Incidence has been the basis for many Corona restrictions in the pandemic so far, such as under the federal emergency brake that expired at the end of June. In the future, other values such as hospital admissions will be taken into account to a greater extent.

Across Germany, 17 deaths were recorded within 24 hours, according to the new data. A week ago, there had been 11 deaths. The RKI counted 3,861,147 proven infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections are not detected.

The RKI reported the number of people who recovered as 3,696,300. The number of people who died from or with the involvement of a confirmed infection with Sars-CoV-2 rose to 91,973.Panel doctors have demanded precise guidelines from the federal government for booster vaccinations in the coming months. "Of course, booster vaccinations can be given in practices," said the head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, according to an advance report in the Rheinische Post newspaper. However, he said, practices and their teams need clarity on when and for whom vaccinations are needed.

One should not forget that starting from the autumn also again the flu season will begin. A possible combination of both vaccinations would make sense, Gassen said. Physicians' president Klaus Reinhardt tells the Rheinische Post that he considers booster vaccinations to make sense only for people with certain pre-existing conditions, with a weakened immune system and for the very elderly.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to fully approve Pfizer/Biontech's vaccine starting Monday. According to the New York Times newspaper, all that remains at the moment is to work through and complete the "paperwork" and negotiations with the company. The newspaper based this on statements from a person familiar with the planning, who did not want to be named. None of the three vaccines approved in the U.S. has yet received full FDA approval.