Germany sees highest daily COVID cases since end of May

BERLIN (AA) – Germany on Wednesday reported 4,996 new cases of coronavirus – up from 2,480 a day before – the highest daily rise since the end of May.

The Robert Koch Institute confirmed 14 coronavirus-related fatalities in the last 24 hours, down from 24 deaths reported a week ago.

A further of 258 new patients with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals, and in total 442 seriously ill coronavirus patients are receiving treatment in intensive care units.

The more contagious Delta variant has been driving up new cases across the country, but hospitalizations and deaths have stayed relatively low, compared to the first and second waves of the pandemic.

While the Delta variant has become the dominant strain in the country, accounting for more than 97% of new cases, Germany’s progress in vaccinations helped preventing many cases of severe illness and hospitalizations.

More than 52 million people in Germany – 62.7% of the population – have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 46.2 million people – 55.6% of the population – were fully vaccinated, according to the latest figures of the Health Ministry.