UPDATE 2-German and Austrian COVID-19 incidence rate falls, stable in Netherlands

The COVID-19 incidence rate has dropped slightly in Germany and Austria and stabilised in the Netherlands since the three countries introduced new measures to curb the spread of the virus, new data showed. After becoming hot spots in a new wave of infections in western Europe, Austria went into a fourth full lockdown last week and the Netherlands and Germany imposed new restrictions.

The COVID-19 incidence rate has dropped slightly in Germany and Austria and stabilized in the Netherlands since the three countries introduced new measures to curb the spread of the virus, new data showed.

After becoming hot spots in a new wave of infections in western Europe, Austria went into a fourth full lockdown last week and the Netherlands and Germany imposed new restrictions. Germany's Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases reported that 452.2 people per 100,000 were infected in the last week, down slightly from 452.4 on Monday. It was the first decline since early November.

Despite this, the number of new cases rose slightly compared to last week to 45,753, and another 388 deaths were recorded - the highest daily figure since early March. That bought the overall death toll to 101,344. Austria reported 8,186 new infections on Tuesday. The incidence per 100,000 was at 936, down from a peak of 1,107 on Nov. 22.

Daily infections in Austria peaked above 15,000 the week before last. The previous highest peak was 9,586 in November 2020, when a national lockdown was ordered. The Netherlands reported 21,443 new cases on Monday as new infections roughly stabilized at record levels in the past week, with testing facilities reaching maximum capacity.

About 886 cases per 100,000 inhabitants were registered in the week that ended Monday. That was up 3% from the previous week - the slowest weekly growth since early October. Hospital admissions are still rising in all three countries.

"Today, COVID-19 is the number one cause of deaths across Europe and Central Asia," Hans Kluge, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe, said on Tuesday. But he added: "We have the tools to control transmission and mitigate the impact."

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her designated successor Olaf Scholz were due to meet regional leaders on Tuesday to discuss how to respond after cases of the new Omicron variant were detected in Germany. Germany's Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that earlier lockdown measures did not violate children's rights to schooling or other constitutional freedoms, giving the government a freer hand in deciding measures.

Germany has introduced restrictions on unvaccinated people and is stepping up booster shots, but many politicians want tighter steps. Vaccination rates in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands are far behind those in southern European countries such as Portugal and Spain.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)