Hit By The Fourth Wave Of COVID-19: Germany Again Records Daily Infections, Hits 50,196 Cases

Illustration of the COVID-19 vaccination queue in Germany. (Wikimedia Commons/Partynia)

JAKARTA - Germany returned to record daily infection cases for the fourth straight day, with 50.196 cases recorded on Thursday, the highest daily case, as the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections hit.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases now stands at 4.89 million, and the total number of deaths rose by 235 to 97.198, according to public health authority Robert Koch Institute.

The agency reported an increase in the seven-day incidence rate of the coronavirus, the number of people per 100.000 infected over the past week, to 249 from 232 on Wednesday.

Reinhard Sager, president of the association of German local authorities (DLT), called on the catering and events industry to more closely check whether customers were tested, vaccinated, or recovered from the coronavirus.

"Worries about losing potential customers should be far less than concerns about looming consequences if they continue to do too little to meet control obligations," Sager told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

Three German parties in talks to form a coalition government in early December have agreed not to extend the national state of emergency, despite a wave of infections.

Instead, they presented a draft law on Monday that would amend existing laws, to allow measures such as the mandatory wearing of masks and social distancing in public spaces to continue to be enforced until next March.

The bill will be presented to the lower house of the Bundestag parliament on Thursday and voted on in a special session a week later.

In addition, the parties are also considering allowing employers to impose requirements for their staff to be vaccinated, recover or test negative for the coronavirus, Dirk Wiese, deputy parliamentary leader of the Social Democratic Party, told ARD television.