Forecast for the third wave: Lauterbach on falling corona numbers in the summer season – “Streeck was right” – politics

The virologist Hendrik Streeck from the University Hospital Bonn predicted in January that the number of corona cases would decrease in spring. This is “the typical behavior of corona viruses”, Streeck told “web.de”, that they “only spread at a low level over the summer months”.

At the time, the virologist was harshly criticized and often smiled at for his corona predictions. On April 8th, talk show host Markus Lanz asked whether the hope for the warmer season was “fighting pandemic according to the weather report”.

SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach stated that “of course no scientist had this hope” that the numbers would fall because of the season of the year alone.

[Wenn Sie alle aktuellen Entwicklungen zur Coronavirus-Pandemie live auf Ihr Handy haben wollen, empfehlen wir Ihnen unsere App, die Sie hier für Apple- und Android-Geräte herunterladen können.]

“I don’t know a single scientist, maybe except for one well-known who would have already had this hope,” Lauterbach said at the time. In fact, the number of infections has been falling since the end of April, and Streeck’s forecasts were correct. The “Bild-Zeitung” has now confronted the doctor with this.

At the request of the “PICTURE” Lauterbach now known: “Regarding the influence of seasonality on the infection rate, I admit: Hendrik Streeck was absolutely right.”

Streeck: We should be prepared to live with the virus

At the beginning of June, Streeck encouraged a little courage in the summer. E.The Bonn professor said that partial immunity could possibly be built up in the population, which would then weaken the further course of the pandemic. “We should allow ourselves a little more courage over the summer,” said Streeck.

Currently, studies have shown that up to 81 percent of the infections were asymptomatic. That means that the infected have no or hardly any symptoms. “The number of Covid-19 sufferers in intensive care units is currently falling,” said Streeck. “There is a chance that we can increase the number of people with partial immunity over the summer.”