Germany: Omicron outbreak leads to record high numbers

Source: amna.gr

Germany recorded more than a hundred thousand cases of Covid infections within the last 24 hours, according to data released early Wednesday.

In the past 24 hours, Europe's largest economy recorded 112,323 cases of SARS-CoV-2 and 239 deaths due to COVID-19, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the body for epidemiological surveillance.

The incidence rate on a weekly basis reached 584.4 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the Institute.

The Omicron variant of the virus has become the dominant one in Germany: it accounts for 70% of infections.

In the face of the continuing spread of the virus, authorities have decided to restrict access to bars and restaurants to only those who have either received a third dose of the vaccine or have a negative test beyond the COVID-19 Certificate of Complete Vaccination or Recovery.

Other European countries have also been hit by a wave of infections attributed to Omicron, such as France, which recently recorded some 300,000 cases in one day.

Chancellor Olaf Solz wants COVID-19 vaccination mandatory in Germany - where 60 million of the 83 million people have been fully vaccinated - but the measure is delayed in a country where the political climate has overheated due to the restrictive measures in force.

Protests against compulsory vaccination, which in some cases escalated and led to riots, have recently garnered participation from hundreds or even thousands of citizens.

Until now, Germany has recorded 116,081 deaths out of a total of 8,186,850 covid infections.