Berlin, Oct. 8, (dpa/GNA) – Germany has recorded more than 4,000 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, marking a jump of more than 1,200 compared to the previous day, the country’s national disease control agency said.
Numbers released on Thursday by the Robert Koch Institute showed that 4,058 new infections had been recorded, compared to 2,828 on Wednesday.
The country has not recorded such a high number of daily cases since the height of the pandemic in late March and early April, when Germany was counting more than 6,000 new cases per day before they fell off markedly.
Infections began trending upwards again in July.
On Wednesday, the majority of the nation’s 16 federal states agreed to impose a ban on people from the growing number of domestic hotspots from staying in hotels elsewhere in the country.
The discussion came as government spokesman Steffen Seibert said cases can no longer be assigned to a “single outbreak event” and warned that health authorities trying to track infections could become overwhelmed.
The country has gradually lifted lockdown rules since May, as authorities opt for a contact-tracing strategy and localized restrictions in response to regional outbreaks. Meanwhile, masks have become ubiquitous on public transport and in shops.
Germans are also being encouraged to keep windows open as the summer draws to an end and socializing begins to move indoors.
Meanwhile, the authorities in Berlin have moved to clamp down on the German capital’s famed nightlife after they came under fire from other states for their slow response to heading off the rise in new cases.
At least 310,144 people in Germany have contracted the virus since the pandemic began, and 9,578 have died.
GNA