Germany sees positive trend in Covid-19 infections

Berlin: The number of new Covid-19 infections in Germany remained below the previous week's levels, with another 14,022 cases reported within one day, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said.

So far, more than 2.19 million infections have been registered in Germany since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to the federal government agency for disease control and prevention. The death toll related to Covid-19 stood at 55,752, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

To stop the spread of infections in the country, Germany entered a second lockdown at the beginning of November. The lockdown, failing to reverse the trend in infections, was tightened and recently extended until mid-February. Non-essential shops, schools and restaurants in Germany were closed and strict contact restrictions imposed.

The 7-day incidence nationwide also continued to decrease and reached October levels, with 94 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the last seven days, according to the RKI.

"We are on the right track, and we must continue to follow this path consistently," RKI President Lothar Wieler said at a press conference.

"We are currently observing a positive trend," Minister of Health Jens Spahn said at the press conference. The number of people in Germany who get infected with Covid-19 is decreasing, and "has been decreasing for several days."

However, the decline was still "not enough," said Spahn. "We want to go further down with the numbers."

The vaccination campaign that started in Germany at the end of December gave "reason for hope," said the minister, reminding that the "journey out of this pandemic of the century has begun."

Meanwhile, Spahn cautioned German citizens that there are still "tough weeks" due to a shortage of Covid-19 vaccine doses.

More than 3.5 million vaccine doses had been sent to Germany, of which 2.2 million were already used, according to the minister. So far, 2.2 per cent of German population have received their first vaccination.