Germany sees 2nd straight COVID case record, mulls response

Germany has recorded its second consecutive daily record for new coronavirus cases as infections pick up across Europe

BERLIN -- Germany recorded its second consecutive daily record for new coronavirus cases on Friday as infections pick up across Europe, and its disease control center said unvaccinated people now face a “very high” risk of infection.

The country saw 37,120 reported new infections over the past 24 hours, according to the disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute. That compared with Thursday's figure of 33,949 — which in turn topped the previous record of 33,777 set on Dec. 18 last year.

While it's possible that the figures were pushed up by delayed testing and reporting following a regional holiday Monday in some of the worst-affected areas, they underlined a steady rise in infections over recent weeks that has put COVID-19 firmly back in the headlines in Germany. Another 154 deaths brought Germany's total to 96,346 on Friday.

The country's infection rate has now exceeded its peak during a spike of cases in the spring, though it's still short of the worst-ever showing in December, according to Friday's figures. There have been 169.9 reported cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, up from 139.2 a week ago.