BERLIN (Reuters) – German health experts warned on Saturday of any other measures to block the coronavirus, as the number of cases rose again, raising the chances of infections reaching the peaks around Christmas again by mid-April. .
The Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI) predicted that the number of cases reported daily could exceed 30,000 in the 14th week of the year starting April 12.
“An extrapolation of trends shows that the number of cases can be expected above the level of Christmas from week 14 onwards,” RKI said in its current status report.
On Saturday, the number of COVID-19 cases increased by 12,674, and the number of deaths increased by 239, the number of cases per 100,000 in seven days increased from 76.1 to 72.4.
Germany’s death toll from the virus is 73,301, with 2,558,455 infections reported.
Frustration over the continued blockade and slow pace of vaccinations has led Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives to also come under fire in the face of a face-to-face procurement scandal involving party lawmakers.
A small group of protesters faced rain in Berlin on Saturday to protest against the blockade.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats have seen support drop in two states where Sunday’s regional election will be a crucial indicator of popular sentiment ahead of the September federal election.
Merkel and state leaders agreed on a gradual easing of borders earlier this month, along with an “emergency brake” to allow authorities to impose restrictions if the number of cases rises from 100 to 100,000 in three consecutive days.
The RKI report said that the rapid spread of a more infectious virus variant detected in the UK for the first time in Germany could mean that the number of cases per 100,000 reaches levels between 200 and 500 by mid-April.
Leaders are due to meet again on March 22 to discuss whether further relaxation of the rules is possible.
“We can only have more relaxation if there is a stable or low number of cases,” Karl Lauterbach, a Social Democrat health expert, told Augsburger Allgemeine, adding that this is unlikely any time soon.
Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Montage by Ros Russell