BERLIN (AP) – The coronavirus death toll in Germany has passed 50,000, a number that has risen rapidly in recent weeks, even as infection rates finally decline.
The country’s disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said on Friday that there have been an additional 859 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 50,642 so far.
Germany had a relatively small number of deaths in the first phase of the pandemic and was able to quickly lift many restrictions.
But it has seen many more infections in the fall and winter. Hundreds of deaths, sometimes more than 1,000, have been reported daily in the country of 83 million people in recent weeks. Germany hit the 40,000 mark on January 10.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will shine a light behind a window of his Bellevue Palace in Berlin every night from Friday to commemorate the dead and those who fight for their lives, his office said. He encouraged other Germans to do the same.
Steinmeier plans to lead a central memorial event for the dead after Easter.
The lights are meant to be a sign that “the deaths in the corona pandemic aren’t just statistics for us,” Steinmeier said. “Even if we don’t know their names and families, we know that each number represents a loved one we miss infinitely.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed those comments this week, describing the recent death rates as “terrible.” Still, she said the number of daily infections is declining and slightly fewer people are entering intensive care than at Christmas.
In Europe, the UK, Italy, France and Spain, all of which have smaller populations, still have higher death tolls.
Robert Koch Institute head Lothar Wieler said this week that the explanation for the high death rates is “relatively simple but relatively depressing.”
“The increase is simply linked to the fact that the number of cases has soared,” he said.
Wieler said there are still many outbreaks in nursing homes – more than 900 currently. Some homes are better prepared than others to fight the pandemic, he said. There have also been large numbers of cases among people over 80.
Overall, new infections peaked in December. On Friday, the Robert Koch Institute reported 17,862 new cases, up from 22,368 a week ago. Germany’s total so far is just over 2.1 million. The number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants for seven days was 115.3, up from nearly 200 a month ago. It is still well above the government’s target of a maximum of 50.
There are currently 4,787 COVID-19 patients in intensive care, said Gernot Marx, the head of the German intensive care association, DIVI.
That’s down from a peak of nearly 5,800 on Jan. 3, he said – “that was, in my opinion, the most critical situation since intensive care has been in Germany in Germany.” He added that there is no sign of a Christmas or New Year’s peak.
Germany’s current lockdown was extended to Feb. 14 this week out of concerns about the potential impact of virus mutations, such as those first discovered in England.
Governments are trying to encourage more people to work from home, reducing the number of people using public transport. Restaurants, bars, sports and leisure facilities have been closed since the beginning of November. Schools and non-essential shops followed in mid-December, and professional sporting events take place without spectators.
Merkel says everyone in Germany will get a vaccination in late September. There is frustration with the slow start of vaccinations. On Thursday, nearly 1.39 million people had received a first dose and more than 115,000 had a second dose.
Britain has delayed giving a second dose for up to three months so that it can give the first dose to as many people as possible. But Health Minister Jens Spahn indicated that Germany will not follow suit, pointing to concerns about a lack of study data and the need for the most vulnerable and elderly to receive “comprehensive” protection.
“We will, according to all the scientific groundwork we have at this point, stick to the … recommended rhythm for the second dose,” Spahn said Friday.
___
Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.