In view of the sharp increase in corona cases, Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has asked for masks to be worn indoors voluntarily. “A summer wave was to be expected,” Lauterbach wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. Wearing a mask indoors and a fourth vaccination are “the best antidotes”.

The seven-day incidence of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants has been increasing for days. From Monday to Tuesday it jumped from 331.8 to 447.3. 105,840 new corona cases were counted. 107 people died within 24 hours in connection with the corona virus.

Self-government, telematics, Morbi-RSA: The briefing on health

According to the weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute last Thursday, the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 in particular have recently recorded strong growth. In both cases, the share doubled: BA.4 to 2.1 percent and BA.5 to ten percent.

“The fourth vaccination protects against serious illness and reduces the risk of infection for a few months, albeit incompletely,” Lauterbach wrote on Twitter. “Now that helps a lot.”