Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Lothar Wieler takes off his face mask
as he arrives to address a press conference amid the new
coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, on October 8, 2020 in Berlin.
(Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / various sources / AFP)
Germany is experiencing a “worrying jump” in coronavirus
cases, Health Minister Jens Spahn said Thursday, as the number of
new daily infections soared past 4,000 for the first time since
early April.
Lothar Wieler, the head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for
disease control, warned the country could see an uncontrollable
spread of the virus.
Europe’s biggest economy recorded 4,058 new Covid-19 infections
over the last 24 hours, a stark increase on Wednesday’s figure of
2,828, according to the RKI.
“The numbers are showing a worrying jump,” Spahn told a press
conference in Berlin, urging Germans not to drop their guard
against the deadly virus.
“Barely any other country in Europe has managed the crisis as
well so far,” he said. “But we must not gamble away what we’ve
achieved.”
He reminded Germans to stick to the well-known rules of
mask-wearing, hand washing and social distancing.
But he also urged them to add the coronavirus app and the
regular airing of rooms into their daily routines.
“We don’t know how the situation in Germany will develop in the
coming weeks,” RKI head Wieler told the same press conference.
“It’s possible that we will reach more than 10,000 cases a day.
It’s possible that the virus will spread uncontrollably. But I hope
it doesn’t.”
The alarming jump in cases came with autumn school holidays
underway or starting across Germany, prompting calls from
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government for citizens to avoid travel
abroad during the usually busy period for tourism.
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Germany’s 16 states were also tightening rules for domestic
travel, with many agreeing on a ban on overnight stays in hotels or
holiday apartments for visitors from so-called risk zones within
the country.
Places, where new infections top 50 per 100,000 inhabitants over
the last seven days are classed as risk zones and local
authorities, are required to take specific measures to halt
contagion.
– ‘Invincible’ –
Parts of central Berlin have slipped into the category,
prompting the German capital authorities to order restaurants and
bars closed from 11:00 pm.
Likewise, numbers in financial capital Frankfurt were also
rising and are now just a whisker off risk-zone category.
Hotspots have sprung up elsewhere in the country, some recording
mass infections from family events or private parties.
Spahn said many of the current cases were affecting younger
people who were “partying, travelling, thinking they are
invincible”.
“But they’re not,” he said, urging young people to think of
elderly relatives for whom the disease can have serious
consequences.
The RKI’s Wieler said infection numbers were rising nationwide,
with experts seeing larger outbreaks as well as “lots of smaller
outbreaks in many parts of Germany”.
Overall, Germany has recorded 310,144 cases since the start of
the pandemic, according to the RKI.
A total of 9,578 people have died, giving the country a
relatively low death toll compared with other European nations.
-AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/10/08/germany-sees-alarming-rise-in-covid-19-cases/