German health officials reported their highest one-day death toll on Wednesday as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Associated Press reported that officials at Germany’s Robert Koch Institute, which serves as the country’s highest health authority, recorded 962 deaths on Wednesday morning over a 24-hour period, a rise that coincides with the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in Germany. during the pandemic. until now.
Across Germany, nearly 28,000 people have died of the disease, a number that is still much lower than in the US and other countries that have had less success in limiting the spread of the virus. But the daily number of deaths from the virus in Germany has risen 62 percent in the last two weeks, underscoring concerns in the country.
The new figures come as Germany’s Health Minister said on Monday that the country’s health authorities will begin vaccinations for COVID-19 in nursing homes for elderly Germans on Dec. 27, a few weeks after the vaccine was distributed in the UK and US.
Chancellor Angela Merkel announced earlier this month that in-person learning in German schools would be canceled until at least Christmas, as well as closing many non-essential businesses, while limiting the number of pre-Christmas gatherings.
“The measures we started on Nov. 2 were not enough,” Merkel said in a statement last weekend.
“The health system is under severe pressure and our goal has always been to avoid overloading the health care system,” added the Chancellor at the time.