COVID: Germany shatters another infection record

Berlin, Nov 18: Germany broke its own record again on Thursday as it registered 65,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours. This is the first time since the pandemic began that the number has been upward of 60,000 in a single day.

At the same time, the head of the country's infectious disease agency the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, warned that number could in fact be much higher.

"The under-reporting of the true numbers is increasing," Wieler said during an online discussion with Michael Kretschmer, the state premier of Saxony, which is now the epicenter of the pandemic in Germany.

Wieler said he believes there were "twice or three times as many" cases a day than were actually being reported.

"We are in an emergency. Whoever refuses to see that is making a big mistake."

Merkel to meet with state premiers

Wieler's words came as Chancellor Angela Merkelwas preparing to meet with all 16 state premiers on Thursday to discuss implementing nationwide measures in an attempt to avoid the uneven restrictions that have been implemented by state and municipal governments throughout the country.

Germany's state of emergency, which has given the federal government tighter control over public health issues, is set to lapse on November 25. The likely future ruling coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), Green party, and Free Democrats (FDP), had indicated that they would let it expire, despite pleas from state premiers not to do so.

"If we're really going to be successful in breaking this wave, we're not going to be able to do it by just addressing the unvaccinated group," Kretschmer said ahead of the meeting.

es/aw (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Source: DW