Hamburg no longer publishes corona numbers

After the introduction of a pandemic radar by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Hamburg has decided not to publish its own corona numbers for the Hanseatic city. “Own values ​​will no longer be collected at the turn of the month,” said the spokesman for the health authority, Martin Helfrich, on Tuesday. As early as May, the Hamburg health authority no longer reported the corona numbers daily, but only weekly.

According to the new Federal Infection Protection Act, the RKI has been publishing figures on more than ten indicators in its pandemic radar every working day since mid-October. Now the authority will transmit the values ​​to the federal institute from Monday to Saturday in the late afternoon, said Helfrich. The criteria for this are uniform nationwide. Only the positive PCR tests would be taken into account. "The rapid tests are completely ignored," said the spokesman.

The corona pandemic is not yet over because the World Health Organization (WHO) has not declared the end. That is why there are still regulations to contain Covid-19, explained Helfrich. However, the transition to endemics is well advanced.

The currently high level of sick leave in some areas of the Hanseatic city is due to respiratory infections, corona cases and the quarantine requirement for those who have tested positive. The obligation to isolate helps prevent more people from getting infected and is therefore still useful, said the spokesman for Health Senator Melanie Leonhard (SPD). At some point - probably towards the end of the respiratory season in April/May - the rule will be reassessed. The recommendation of the experts at the RKI will be decisive.

Due to a high sickness rate, there are currently fewer buses and subways in Hamburg, as the Hochbahn announced on Monday.