Germany registers record daily coronavirus cases

BERLIN

Germany recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases on Wednesday with more than 52,000 new infections, forcing authorities to consider tougher restrictions to stem the spread of the virus.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's disease control agency, confirmed 52,826 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from 32,048 cases reported on Tuesday.

The virus claimed 294 more lives, bringing the country’s death toll in the pandemic to 98,274.

The surge in new infections have started to overwhelm hospitals in many regions, as the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) rose to 3,280. Almost 89% of all ICU beds are already occupied.

Germany has seen a resurgence of coronavirus as people spend more time indoors during the colder months, and a large number of people are still unvaccinated against the disease.

As many as 56.2 million people, or 67.6% of the country’s population, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The government’s goal has been to vaccinate at least 75% of the population to prevent an exponential rise in new infections during the fall and winter months.

Germany’s central government and premiers of federal states are scheduled to hold a videoconference on Thursday to organize a wider vaccination campaign and introduce tougher restrictions, especially for unvaccinated people.