BERLIN (AP) – The number of coronavirus deaths in Germany has exceeded 50,000, a number that has increased rapidly in recent weeks, even when the numbers of infection are finally decreasing.
The country’s disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said on Friday that another 859 deaths had been recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total so far to 50,642.
Germany had a comparatively small number of deaths in the first phase of the pandemic and was able to lift many restrictions quickly.
But it has seen much higher levels of infections in the fall and winter. Hundreds of deaths, sometimes more than 1,000, have been reported daily in the country of 83 million people in recent weeks. Germany reached the 40,000 mark on 10 January.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will leave a light shining in a window of his Bellevue palace in Berlin every night starting Friday in memory of the dead and those who fight for their lives, his office said. He encouraged other Germans to do the same.
Steinmeier plans to lead a central memorial event for those killed after Easter.
The lights are a sign that “those killed in the corona pandemic are not just statistics for us,” said Steinmeier. “Even though we don’t know their names and families, we know that each figure represents a loved one that we miss infinitely.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed those comments this week, describing the recent death toll as “terrible”. Still, she said that daily infections are decreasing and slightly less people are receiving intensive care than at Christmas.
In Europe, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain, all with smaller populations, still have a higher number of deaths.
Robert Koch Institute chief Lothar Wieler said this week that the explanation for the high mortality rates is “relatively simple, but relatively depressing”.
“The increase is simply linked to the fact that the number of cases has increased so much,” he said.
Wieler said there are still many outbreaks in nursing homes – more than 900 at the moment. Some houses are better prepared than others to fight the pandemic, he said. There are also a large number of cases among those over 80 years of age.
Overall, new infections peaked in December. On Friday, the Robert Koch Institute reported 17,862 new cases, down from 22,368 the previous week. Germany’s total so far is just over 2.1 million. The number of new cases per 100,000 residents in seven days stood at 115.3, after reaching almost 200 a month ago. It is still well above the government’s target of a maximum of 50.
There are currently 4,787 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care, said Gernot Marx, head of Germany’s intensive care association, DIVI.
This is below a peak of almost 5,800 on January 3, he said – “this was the most critical situation, in my opinion, since there was intensive care in Germany”. He added that there are no peak signs of Christmas or New Year.
Germany’s current blockade was extended this week until February 14, amid concerns over the possible impact of virus mutations like the first detected in England.
The authorities are trying to encourage more people to work from home, thereby reducing the number of people using public transport. Restaurants, bars, sports and leisure facilities have been closed since the beginning of November. Non-essential schools and stores followed in mid-December, and professional sporting events are taking place without spectators.
Merkel says the vaccination will be offered to everyone in Germany in late September. There has been frustration with the slow start of vaccinations. As of Thursday, almost 1.39 million people had received the first dose and more than 115,000 the second.
Britain has postponed the administration of the second dose for up to three months in order to be able to give the first dose to as many as possible. But Health Minister Jens Spahn has signaled that Germany will not follow suit, pointing to concerns about the lack of data from the study and the need for the most vulnerable and elderly to obtain “comprehensive” protection.
“We will, according to all the scientific fundamentals we have at the moment, maintain the … recommended pace for the second dose,” said Spahn on Friday.
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Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.