The German government has urged citizens to remain vigilant and adhere to public health guidelinesWhen new Covid-19 infections hit a three-month high and schools reopened in the country’s most populous state.
Germany’s response so far has been widely seen as successful in slowing the virus’ spread efficiently and quickly, but the country’s disease control agency reported 1,226 new infections on Wednesday.
That was the highest number since early May, although the number has topped 1,000 in several days recently.
Minister of Health Jens Spahn Small and medium-sized outbreaks have occurred in almost all regions, mainly due to travelers returning from abroad and people partying or holding family gatherings.
“That is undoubtedly worrying,” said Spahn to Deutschlandfunk. “And of course it can lead to a new dynamic if we don’t all exercise caution now.”
In the early days of the pandemic, the average age of those infected was 50 years; it’s 34 now.
Germany has recorded 218,519 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 9,207 deaths, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the national disease control center.
At the height of the pandemic in early April, there were around 6,000 new cases every day.
Many of the recent new infections were people who contracted the virus while visiting the virus Western Balkans, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Spainsaid the Robert Koch Institute.
The spike comes as students return to school across the country, adding to concerns.
Around 2.5 million children returned to school on Wednesday North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state that has the strictest rules in the country, including the fact that students over elementary school age must wear masks at all times, including in class.
The eastern state Mecklenburg-Western PomeraniaThe country with the least amount of coronavirus infection took a different approach when it became the first state to send children back to school without mask or social distancing rules on Aug. 3.
Four days later, two schools had to be temporarily closed after a student from one and a teacher from the other tested positive for Covid-19.
in the BrandenburgWhen school resumed on Monday, a child and worker on an after-school program tested positive on Wednesday and authorities were awaiting test results for 68 people who had been in contact with them.
And in Schleswig-Holstein In the north of the country, where students also returned to class on Monday, an elementary school closed almost immediately after a teacher tested positive, although it was expected to reopen soon.
As a precaution, two classes from a second school were sent home on Wednesday after a student’s sibling tested positive.
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