Germany reports 164,000 new infections with the coronavirus on Wednesday. Never before have so many cases been registered in the country within 24 hours. The record comes when parliament is debating a general vaccination obligation.
The number of infections in Germany has exploded in the past month due to the extra contagious omikron variant of the coronavirus. As a result, 166 new deaths were also recorded on Wednesday, bringing the official death toll to 117,126.
Almost 74 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, more than 51 percent has also had a booster shot. The German vaccination rate is lower than in countries such as France and Italy, but it is above that of the European Union. In the EU, almost 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to introduce a general vaccination obligation. “I am now convinced that without compulsory vaccination, we will not be able to get the vaccination coverage to the level needed to get out of the pandemic,” he said last week. Parliament will decide whether the vaccination obligation will actually come into effect.
Tens of thousands of Germans took to the streets on Monday to protest against corona measures and a possible vaccination obligation for all residents. Opponents argue that mandatory vaccination is contrary to the constitution, among other things.