Daily COVID-19 infections in Germany exceed 50,000 for 1st time

BERLIN -- Daily COVID-19 infections in Germany reached a new all-time high on Thursday as 50,196 new cases were registered within one day, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced.

Germany's seven-day incidence rate rose to 249.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, reaching a peak for the fourth day in a row. One week ago, the seven-day incidence was still 154.5, according to the data by the RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.

"The virus is still among us and threatens the health of citizens," said Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his speech in the German Bundestag on Thursday, announcing a conference of federal State Prime Ministers on the COVID-19 situation next week.

According to the German Intensive Care Availability Register (DIVI), the number of COVID-19 patients requiring treatment in intensive care units (ICUs) also kept climbing and reached 2,828 on Thursday.

Looking ahead to the coming winter, Germany's task was to expand its vaccination campaign and the goal was to "ensure that millions of citizens get a booster vaccination," Scholz said. "We need to winterize our country, so to speak."

As of Wednesday, around 56 million people had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 67.3 percent, according to the RKI.