‘Negligence’ is driving spike in German Covid-19 cases, public health agency warns

A leading German health official is urging people to be more responsible, as a sharp hike in new cases of Covid-19 causes “serious concerns.”

The number of new cases almost doubled on Tuesday compared to the previous 24 hours. The president of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, is worried about the rise in Covid-19 cases in that country, blaming the population for losing discipline when it comes to social distancing and other protective measures.

“In Germany it is up to us how the pandemic develops,” Wieler admitted. He believes people’s increasingly relaxed behavior at home, outdoors and at work has contributed to the latest hike.

 The rise has to do with the fact that we have become negligent.

Wieler asked people to wear masks even outdoors if they can’t maintain a social distance of 1.5 meters. As a part of anti-Covid efforts, Germany’s health minister on Monday announced plans to make coronavirus tests mandatory for people returning from high-risk areas.

Germany has so far recorded 206,242 cases and 9,122 deaths, which is lower than many other European countries. But the recent spike is causing concerns.

On Tuesday, 633 new infections were recorded, as compared to Monday’s 340. In previous weeks, the trend was generally flat, with the number hovering around 500 cases per day, at times even less. Over 60 percent of the new cases were reported in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

Last week, a surge of coronavirus cases was reported in Spain. On Tuesday, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office advised holidaymakers not to travel to three worst-affected regions of that country.

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