‘Life can return to normal only when vaccine is found’

BERLIN (AA) - Life can only fully return to normal once a vaccine against the novel coronavirus is found, an official from Germany’s disease control agency said on Tuesday.

Lars Schaade, vice president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), told a news conference in Berlin that hygiene and social distancing measures should continue for a long period, despite a recent slowdown in the rate of new COVID-19 cases in Germany.

“Even if we came to a point where we have no new cases in Germany, a new wave would still be possible due to new infections from abroad,” he said.

“Until we have a vaccine available, and for the time being nobody knows if or when it will be available, we must continue our measures to avoid infection,” he stressed.

The German government announced last week that it managed to bring COVID-19 health emergency under control and partially relaxed strict lockdown measures, allowing small shops to reopen.

But Chancellor Angela Merkel also warned against complacency and urged citizens to closely follow social distancing measures to prevent a new wave of coronavirus.

The death toll from coronavirus in Germany reached 4,856 on Tuesday, while the total number of cases neared 148,000, according to data analysis firm Risklayer and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

The daily number of new cases remained below 2,000 for a third consecutive day.

Some 95,200 people in Germany have recovered from the virus so far, the Robert Koch Institute reported.

Germany has the fifth-highest tally of reported COVID-19 infections in the world, ranking behind the U.S., Spain, Italy, and France. But its death toll remains far lower than other hard-hit countries.

Besides widespread coronavirus testing, contact tracing, and case isolation, Germany has also significantly raised the bed capacity of intensive care units in hospitals.

As of Tuesday, hospitals across the country had more than 12,300 free intensive care beds for coronavirus patients.

Since appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions.

Data compiled by the U.S.’ Johns Hopkins University shows worldwide infections have neared 2.5 million, with the death toll above 171,000, while almost 660,000 people have recovered.