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Germany records highest-ever rate of COVID-19 infections

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Berlin, Nov 04: Germany registered a record number of COVID-19 cases on Thursday, breaking a record set in December 2020. Disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 33,949 new infections in a single day.

Germany records highest-ever rate of COVID-19 infections

The news came one day after Health Minister Jens Spahn declared that Germany was living in a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" and thatthe fourth wave of the virus was "in full force" across the country.

What is the situation for hospitals and vaccines?

As Germany's vaccination program lags behind other European countries, Spahn also warned that those unwilling to get vaccinated could face new restrictions, such as being barred from shops and restaurants.

Recent figures from the RKI show that only 66.5% of Germans are fully vaccinated, compared to 88% in Portugal and 81% in Spain.

Hospitals were also beginning to buckle under the pressure as the number of intensive care beds filled up, largely populated by the unvaccinated.

On Wednesday night, the rate of hospitalizations per 100,000 residents over 7 days, the German government's new key statistic to measure the severity of the pandemic, rose to 3.62 up from 3.29 just the day before.

What are health ministers debating?

Spahn was set to meet with the health ministers of Germany's 16 federal states on Thursday in the southern city of Lindau to discuss the possibility of imposing new restrictions. Over the past few months, although mask mandates for indoor public spaces remain in effect, life has largely returned to normal in Germany.

The ministers were also set to discuss the country's booster campaign, which has been criticized for a lack of clarity about who can get one and where.

Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek, who is chairing the conference, has called for a booster for everyone, not just the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.

"We need to make it very, very, clear what the next steps will be," said Holetschek ahead of the meeting.

He added that it was clear "that the medical field is at its limit."

Also up for discussion is whether or not to end Germany's state of emergency, which will lapse on November 25. It has given the federal government more direct power to control the pandemic.

State of emergency nearing end

The three parties working to form Germany's next coalition government have signalled they will let it run out, despite a plea from state leaders not to do so.

Ministers will also being looking at issuing new safety advice to businesses and public institutions. In many places, those who are vaccinated, have recovered, or can present a negative test are allowed to enter public spaces.

Possible new suggestions include nixing negative tests alone and only allowing the recovered and vaccinated into buildings. An even stronger rule would see the recovered and vaccinated also needing to present a negative test result.

Experts have said the latter should especially be considered for entering elderly care homes, though that proposal has not made it into a government draft of new regulations.

Ulrich Weigeldt, the head of Germany*s general practitioners' assocation, told the Bild newspaper that unvaccinated people "should not be allowed to have contact with vulnerable groups...that goes for care homes as well as for intensive care units."

Source: DW

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