Germany’s COVID-19 incidence rate highest since start of pandemic

Germany on Monday recorded the highest seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate since the start of the pandemic, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said.

The incidence rate increased to 201.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the RKI. The previous record of 197.6 was set during the second COVID-19 wave in December last year, Reuters reported.

The RKI said that 15,513 new infections were reported over the past 24 hours, a week-on-week increase of 5,800. Last Friday, Germany recorded the highest ever number of daily infections of 37,120.

According to the German Intensive Care Register (DIVI), around 2,600 COVID-19 patients received intensive care treatment on Monday, up from 2,000 a week ago. At the peak of the pandemic in Germany in early 2021, the figure exceeded 5,700.

The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care could double in the coming weeks if the number of new infections continues to rise, Christian Karagiannidis, scientific director at the DIVI, told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper on Monday.

Although Germany is far from achieving herd immunity, the country’s vaccination campaign has slowed down. As of Sunday, around 55.8 million people had been fully vaccinated, bringing the country’s vaccination rate to 67.1 percent, according to the RKI.