“I am optimistic that we will have overcome the Omicron wave soon, even if we have not yet reached the peak,” Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday.

“We have navigated this storm relatively well so far,” Wieler said.

As in many other countries, the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus has caused case numbers to rocket in recent weeks.

Over the past seven days, 1.2 million cases of the coronavirus have been registered with the RKI, about 10% of the nation’s cumulative caseload in the pandemic so far.

Wieler noted that Omicron leads to fewer hospitalizations than the Delta variant, but he called for patience when it comes to restrictions and hygiene measures in order to slow down infections. This, he said, would protect vulnerable groups and shield critical infrastructure.

“In a few weeks we will have weathered the Omicron wave. Let’s stay calm and mindful and alert. And then we can relax and look forward to Easter,” he said.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach struck a similar tone, advising caution amid calls from politicians to ease current restrictions, which vary depending on the state but involve testing and vaccination requirements for entry to many facilities.

“We don’t really have the situation under control yet,” Lauterbach warned, reiterating that the wave was expected to peak in the middle of the month.

“We cannot at this point in time support broad easing as is currently being discussed,” he added.