Fast contagion Incidence among Bonn children skyrockets to 537
Bonn · Within a week, infections among 10- to 14-year-olds have increased sharply. According to the city administration, the Delta variant is spreading mainly in families. But it also reports 81 cases from schools.
The incidence among children and adolescents in Bonn is increasing significantly. In the age group of 10- to 14-year-olds, it was 537 cases per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days on Wednesday, according to the State Centre for Health (LZG). 84 girls and boys became infected within seven days. This absolute number is extrapolated to 100,000 people for incidence. This group is thus by far the most frequently affected by Corona infections in Bonn.
According to LZG figures, the sharp increase in 10- to 14-year-olds began about a week ago. On September 7, their incidence was still 352. In the same period, the incidence among five- to nine-year-olds grew from 287 to 350 and among adolescents (15 to 19 years) from 200 to 322. Since the total number of infections in Bonn is also just rising again, an aggravated spread of the virus is to be expected among children who can only be vaccinated from the age of 12. In Wuppertal, currently the negative leader in NRW with incidence of 201, the incidence of 10- to 14-year-olds was already 634 on Wednesday.
The city of Bonn reported 81 infections at 39 schools as of Wednesday. Among them, it said, were two smaller outbreaks with related cases: at Jahnschule, with five children in a class, and Paul-Gerhardt-Schule, with four children in a class. According to the city, no teachers are in quarantine; the number of students in quarantine could not be given. As reported, the state government has just relaxed the quarantine rules at schools and daycare centres: as a rule, only the infected children and adolescents have to be in isolation. According to the city administration, there are four cases in the daycare centres; in the senior citizens' facility "Haus auf dem Heiderhof", two residents and one employee are affected.
Infection spreads across the city
The average incidence for all age groups rose again on Wednesday to 156.4, putting Bonn among the four NRW municipalities with the highest levels. "The incidence of infection continues to be distributed throughout the city area," explained Deputy City Spokesman Marc Hoffmann. "It takes place for the most part in the domestic-family area. In most cases, the Delta variant infects all members of a household."
The number of patients in Bonn's intensive care units with Covid-19 has increased in recent weeks. According to the intensive care registry of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi for short), 211 of 219 intensive care beds were occupied on Wednesday, 30 of them with Corona patients, 17 of whom required invasive ventilation. By comparison, 217 beds were occupied on Aug. 23, 16 of them with Covid 19 patients. "We are observing a continuous increase, but it is manageable and not yet dramatic," said Wolfgang Holzgreve, CEO of Bonn University Hospital (UKB). With 120 intensive care beds, UKB operates the most in Bonn and the surrounding area, but could increase to 200 if the situation worsens.
Other Bonn hospitals also hold reserves. Holzgreve went on to say that almost all patients in the ICU are unvaccinated: "If we as a society succeed in further increasing the vaccination rate, I think we have a good chance of getting through fall and winter without reaching the critical limit."
Original text: Andreas Baumann and Philipp Königs
Translation: Mareike Graepel
