COVID-19 cases exceed 23,000 in Germany

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Germany continued to rise significantly on Wednesday, as 23,212 new infections were registered in one day, around 6,200 more than a week ago, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Wednesday.

The seven-day incidence rate climbed to 118 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to only 80.4 a week ago, the RKI said.

Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases among children and adolescents, the German Teachers' Association (DL) called for the reintroduction of the mask mandate at schools. School closures must be avoided "by all means," DL President Heinz-Peter Meidinger told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

Many of Germany's federal states have relaxed the obligation to wear face masks at schools in recent weeks. As a result, the rules that regulate which age group must wear face masks in school vary across the country.

The vaccination rate of students plays "a very important role" in how long schools must maintain the regulations.

The more students are vaccinated, "the lower the risk that schools will have to switch to distance learning again," Meidinger said.

By Tuesday, around 55.2 million people in Germany had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 66.4 percent, according to the RKI. The respective figure for adolescents aged between 12 and 17 is 40.6 percent. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )

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