Again, more new coronavirus infections have been detected in Germany in the past 24 hours than on the day before.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German counterpart of the RIVM, reported 11,912 new cases on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the RKI reported more than 9,000 infections, more than double the number on Tuesday. Then nearly 4,000 new cases were reported. The coronavirus has been diagnosed in 2,471,942 people in Germany since the start of the pandemic.
Another 359 people died in Germany in the past 24 hours as a result of a corona infection. Covid-19 has thus claimed at least 71,240 lives in Germany.
Chancellor Angela Merkel announced late on Wednesday evening after consultation with state prime ministers that the lockdown will remain in effect for most of this month anyway. Merkel did, however, announce that she had agreed on a model for phased easing with the state governments.
These relaxations should be made possible by the extra speed with the vaccination and a free rapid test per week for all German citizens after Sunday.