UPDATE - Germany: Coronavirus death toll tops 2,000

UPDATES WITH LATEST FIGURES, CHANGES DECK, ADDS COMMENTS BY HEALTH MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

BERLIN (AA) - The death toll from coronavirus in Germany crossed 2,000 on Wednesday, while the total number of cases neared 110,000, according to local health authorities.

Data analysis firm Risklayer and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, which compiles real-time figures from nearly 400 local authorities, reported 242 new deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the toll to 2,096.

With 4,588 new cases, the number of people infected with the virus climbed to 109,180.

More than 33,000 people were estimated to have recovered from the virus so far, according to figures published by Tagesspiegel daily.

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

Besides widespread coronavirus testing, Germany has also significantly increased the bed capacity of intensive care units in hospitals: from 28,000 to nearly 40,000 in a couple of weeks.

- 1M tests

Health Ministry spokesman Hanno Kautz told a news conference on Wednesday that Germany has so far conducted nearly 1 million coronavirus tests.

He also said currently hospitals across the country had more than 10,000 free intensive care beds for coronavirus patients.

Germany imposed strict lockdown measures last month to stem the spread of the coronavirus, ordering all non-essential shops to close and banning any social contact between more than two people in public.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government announced this week that strict lockdown measures will continue until at least April 20.

Since originating in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 184 countries and regions.

There are more than 1.44 million confirmed cases worldwide, with over 83,400 deaths, and above 308,000 recoveries, according to the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.