BERLIN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The daily number of new COVID-19 infections has increased sharply in Germany as the country registered 13,435 cases in one day, almost 4,300 more than one week ago, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Wednesday.
The incidence rate of reported COVID-19 cases in Germany in the past seven days per 100,000 citizens also continued to rise and reached 86.2, the RKI said.
Like several other European countries, Germany on Monday suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure pending an assessment by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The decision was made because of new reports of thromboses of the cerebral veins in connection with the use of this vaccine.
The highest number of new infections -- 33,777 -- was recorded in mid-December 2020 in Germany. Just before Christmas, the seven-day incidence rate in Germany peaked at 198, according to the RKI.
Although Germany remains in a COVID-19 lockdown until at least March 28, the country has started to gradually relax the control measures. The seven-day incidence rate is an important benchmark for decisions on further openings or closures.
A vaccination meeting planned for Wednesday between the German government and the federal states was postponed pending the EMA's decision on the AstraZeneca vaccine.
According to the German Ministry of Health, seven cases, including three fatalities, of a special form of severe cerebral vein thrombosis had been registered in Germany in temporal connection with AstraZeneca's jab as of Tuesday.
More than two and a half months after the start of the coronavirus vaccination campaign in Germany, over three million people had already been fully vaccinated by Tuesday, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 3.6 percent, according to the RKI.
To date, more than 2.59 million COVID-19 infections have been officially registered in Germany since the outbreak of the pandemic. The death toll stood at 73,905 on Wednesday, the RKI said. Enditem
