Germany is experiencing a new wave of coronavirus infections, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said today, urging the most vulnerable to get their fourth vaccination jabs.
It comes as the number of people in Irish hospitals testing positive for Covid-19 rose by 18 overnight to reach 459. Of these, 26 are being treated in ICU.
Around half of patients are incidental cases who are admitted for other conditions. Minister Lauterbach told a German newspaper: "The announced summer wave [of Covid-19] has unfortunately become reality." After weeks of falling new infections, the numbers of cases in Europe's biggest economy are seeing an uptick again.
He added that "because the current virus variant is very easily transmitted and almost all precautionary measures have expired", the effect of the summer in calming a surge in infections was not as effective.