German COVID-19 cases Rise To almost 164,000

Germany’s COVID-19 cases rose by 685 within one day to 163,860, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Tuesday.

The death toll in the country increased by 139 to 6,831, resulting in a case fatality rate of 4.2 percent, it said.

Last week, between 700 and 1,600 new daily cases had been reported to RKI. At the height of pandemic, more than 6,000 new infections had been recorded on a single day by the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.

The estimated number of recoveries increased by around 2,300 within one day to 135,100 on Tuesday, according to RKI.

The reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Germany was at 0.71, said RKI. In the past days, the reproduction rate had been between 0.7 and 0.8.

RKI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have repeatedly stated that restrictions could only be eased if this number was well below one. On Wednesday, Merkel and the minister presidents of the federal states are scheduled to announce the next steps of Germany’s exit strategy.

However, the numbers would be only a snapshot, warned RKI President Lothar Wieler. “I assume, and experts confirm this, that there will be a second and third wave of infection. Keeping your distance is the new daily routine.”