Germany hits record Covid infection rate since start of pandemic

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/16/germany-hits-record-covid-infection-rate-since-start-of-pandemic

Germany hits record Covid infection rate since start of pandemic

Philip Oltermann in Berlin
Wed 16 Mar 2022 12.24 GMT

Germany has recorded its highest rate of Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic, as mask-wearing mandates in shops, restaurants and schools will come to an end in many parts of the country this weekend.

The country’s disease control agency on Wednesday reported a record incidence rate of 1,607 new infections per 100,000 people over the past seven days, one of the highest in Europe. Germany’s Robert Koch Institute has recorded a total of 262,593 confirmed new cases and 269 new deaths over the past 24 hours.

Experts say the true number of cases could be even higher as testing facilities have reached full capacity and those who test positive with a lateral flow test are no longer required to carry out a PCR test that would show up in the statistics.
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Rising infections in Germany are likely to be still driven by the Omicron variant and especially its “stealth” subvariant, BA.2, which made up almost half of all recorded cases last week. Less than 1% of infections are now due to the Delta variant.
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