German officials warned Friday that the third wave of the coronavirus in the country will be “harder to curb” and could be much worse than the previous two.
Why it matters: The number of new confirmed cases has risen sharply in recent weeks, largely due to the more transmissible B.1.1.7 variant and the relaxation of some lockdown measures, Reuters said.
In numbers: Germany has registered 2,755,225 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 75,780 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the country’s Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI).
- Germany reported 21,573 new cases on Friday, about 4,000 new cases more than a week ago, Deutsche Welle reported.
What they say: “There are clear signs that this wave will be worse than the first two waves,” said RKI head Lothar Wieler, said Reuters.
- “We have some very difficult weeks ahead,” he added, urging people to stay home during the Easter holidays.
The big picture: Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the government would no longer implement a planned tighter lockdown over the Easter holidays.
- She apologized for the plan, which met with public criticism and confusion.
The German health minister said Saturday that the country expects to receive its first small shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson in mid-April, Reuters said.
- Jens Spahn warned that the initial delivery would be small – about 275,000 doses – but it will eventually “add up to millions of doses.”
- According to Reuters, the country has had a slow start to vaccine rollout, exacerbated by delivery days and limited supply. About 10% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.