Infection numbers continue to climb in Germany: for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, health authorities have registered more than 30.000 new coronavirus cases in a single 24-hour period. 

33.777 new coronavirus cases in Germany on Friday

Health authorities in Germany reported 33.777 new coronavirus cases to the Robert Koch Institute in the 24 hours to Friday morning - a new daily record. The figure includes 3.500 late registrations from Baden-Württemberg that had not been sent the day before, due to a technical issue. 

But the high daily infection rate cannot be blamed on technical errors alone - if you deduct the late reports from Friday’s total and add them to Thursday’s official figure of 26.923, it shows that Germany has recorded in excess of 30.000 new coronavirus cases for two consecutive days (30.423 on Thursday and 30.277 on Friday). 

The previous daily case record, set last Friday, was 29.875. Reflecting the steep rise in the number of new infections, the daily death toll has also been rising rapidly. Just this Wednesday, a new record was set when 952 deaths were recorded in a single day. On Friday, 598 new deaths were registered, bringing the total death toll to 24.938. 

One-third of all infections recorded in last three weeks

To illustrate just how steeply case numbers are rising in the federal republic: the RKI has now counted a total of 1.439.938 coronavirus infections since the beginning of the pandemic; the one-million mark was exceeded just three weeks ago. This means that almost a third of all coronavirus infections in Germany have been detected in the past 21 days. An estimated 1.069.400 people have now recovered. 

The seven-day incidence - which is measured as the number of new infections per 100.000 inhabitants within the last seven days, and is a crucial measure for assessing the situation - rose to a new high of 184,8 on Friday. On Thursday the value was 179,2. The three municipalities with the highest seven-day incidence rates are now all in Saxony: Bautzen (668,2), Zwickau (686,0) and Erzgebirgkreis (680,7).