COVID-19: Germany sees 6-month record in daily infections

BERLIN (AA) - Germany recorded 5,132 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since April 5, according to official figures.

The Robert Koch Institute reported 43 more coronavirus-related fatalities, bringing the countrywide death toll to 9,677.

Hospitalized patient numbers rose to 620, up from about 450 a week ago, according to the country's disease control agency.

Amid growing coronavirus cases, German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited the premiers of 16 federal states for a face-to-face meeting in Berlin later on Wednesday to discuss possible new measures to contain the pandemic.

Germany's neighbors -- France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland -- also reported record high daily coronavirus cases recently, pushing authorities to introduce new restrictions to stem the spread of the virus.

The pandemic has claimed more than 1 million lives in 189 countries and territories since the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China in December.

The US, India and Brazil are currently the worst-hit countries.

More than 38.1 million cases have been reported with more than 26.4 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.