Germany’s daily COVID-19 cases more than double within week

BERLIN

Daily COVID-19 cases in Germany have more than doubled within a week as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading rapidly across the country.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 8,324 more coronavirus cases on Wednesday, marking the highest daily number of infections in the last three months.

Health authorities had registered 3,912 cases on Tuesday, and 2,126 cases on Monday.

Germany's active cases have climbed to 55,900, the highest figure in the current fourth wave of infections.

Currently, the city-state of Hamburg has the highest weekly incidence rate with 74.5 infections per 100,00 people, followed by the capital Berlin (69.2 cases per 100,000) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (64.6 cases per 100,000).

Despite a surge in new cases due to the Delta variant, hospitalizations and deaths have stayed relatively low, compared to the previous waves of the pandemic.

Authorities confirmed 22 coronavirus-related fatalities on Wednesday, while 574 coronavirus patients were receiving treatment in intensive care units.

The Delta variant accounts for nearly 98% of all new cases in Germany, but the country’s progress in vaccinations is believed to have contained the cases of severe illness and hospitalizations.

As of Tuesday, 52.8 million people in Germany – 63.5% of the population – have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 48.1 million people – 57.8% of the population – have been fully vaccinated.