Germany's 7-day Covid-19 incidence rises for fifth consecutive day

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Germany's seven-day COVID-19 incidence rose for the fifth consecutive day, up from 222.7 on the previous day to 232.4, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Monday.

Daily COVID-19 infections in the country increased to 18,518 cases, around 4,600 more than last week, according to the RKI. It warned that the figures still showed an "incomplete picture of the epidemiological situation" due to less testing and delayed reports over the holiday season.

Infections with the Omicron variant in Germany increased by 3,524 within one day to a total of 30,325, according to the RKI. More than a third of all laboratory-confirmed Omicron cases in the country were recorded in the 15-34 age group.

Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach told newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he was "very, very concerned about the unvaccinated who are now walking into the Omicron wave."

Lauterbach stressed that the first vaccination would "drastically reduce the risk of death after just 14 days," adding that by increasing first-time vaccinations, "we can effectively reduce COVID-19 deaths in the Omicron wave."

With a vaccination rate of 71.2 percent, around 21.5 million people in Germany are still not vaccinated, according to official figures.

The federal and state governments are to discuss later this week how to further proceed in the fight against the Omicron variant, after restrictions were tightened for the vaccinated and recovered over the turn of the year.