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BERLIN, March 18 (Reuters) - The number of confirmed
coronavirus cases in Germany jumped by 17,504 to 2,612,268, the
biggest daily rise since Jan. 22, data from the Robert Koch
Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.
The reported death toll rose by 227 to 74,132, while the
number of new cases per 100,000 people over seven days rose to
90, compared to 86 a day earlier.
Germany is in a third wave of the pandemic, driven by an
easing of restrictions in recent weeks just as a more
transmissible variant has spread, the RKI has said, predicting a
big jump in cases in coming weeks.
That has not been helped by a sluggish rollout of
vaccinations, further dented by a decision this week to suspend
the use of AstraZeneca doses due to safety worries.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders agreed a phased
easing of curbs earlier this month along with an "emergency
brake" to let authorities reimpose restrictions if case numbers
rise above 100 per 100,000 on three consecutive days.
They are due to meet again on March 22.
Some experts are calling for the government to move away
from the focus on the incidence rates, noting that as more tests
are conducted, there will be more positive results, even as the
number of older people infected falls due to vaccinations.
"This figure is highly problematic," Juergen Windeler, the
head of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care
(IQWIG), told the newspapers of the Neue Berliner
Redaktionsgesellschaft.
Talks between Merkel and leaders of the 16 federal states on
the vaccination campaign, in particular using family doctors to
administer COVID-19 vaccines, are due to take place on Friday.
Merkel has said that all Germans will have been offered a
vaccination by Sept. 21 - five days before a federal election.
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson
Editing by Caroline Copley)
