BERLIN (Reuters) – The third wave of coronavirus in Germany could be the worst so far and 100,000 new daily infections have not been ruled out, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI) said Friday.
The number of new confirmed infections in Germany has been on the rise in recent weeks, driven by a more transmissible variant known as B117 and measures to facilitate some lockdown measures.
“There are clear signs that this wave will be worse than the first two waves,” said RKI’s Lothar Wieler, urging people to stay home during Easter. “We have some very difficult weeks ahead of us.”
The RKI later issued COVID-19 travel warnings for several neighboring countries, including France, Austria, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
People coming from those countries now have to take a negative test that is less than 48 hours old at the German border. They must then go into a 10-day quarantine, which can be shortened after 5 days by a second negative test.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said Germany was in the final stages of the “pandemic marathon,” but the country’s health system could reach its limit in April.
The number of new confirmed cases in Germany rose by 21,573 on Friday, while the death toll rose by 183.
Spahn said a requirement for all air passengers entering Germany to pass a negative test would go into effect at midnight Monday.
He called on local authorities to take a more flexible approach to vaccination, for example by offering unused doses to people over 70 on weekends and by reducing stocks more quickly.
Frustration has grown over the slow roll-out of vaccines. About 10% of Germans have received at least a first dose, but this is much lower than in the United States, Great Britain or Israel.
Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Giles Elgood