UPDATE - Germany reports daily record of over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases

UPDATES WITH NEW DATA ON OMICRON CASES

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Wednesday reported more than 80,000 new coronavirus cases in a day, a new record since the pandemic began two years ago.

The Robert Koch Institute, the country's disease control agency, confirmed 80,430 new infections in the past 24 hours, and 384 coronavirus-related fatalities.

The recent surge was fueled by the more contagious omicron variant, but most of those infections were mild, not requiring hospitalization.

Germany’s hospitalization rate stood at 3.34 per 100,000 residents on Tuesday, much lower than the figures seen in previous waves.

But public health officials are warning that the omicron is spreading significantly faster than previous variants, and it could swamp the health care system if cases continue to climb dramatically in the coming days.

Authorities reported 17,139 new cases of the omicron variant on Wednesday, up from 11,695 the day before.

Experts say the actual number of omicron cases could be much higher, as the country sequences only a small proportion of positive tests.

Health departments have so far registered 50 omicron-related fatalities, and confirmed that 1,120 people infected with omicron were admitted to hospitals.