Germany sets daily record with over 90,000 new COVID-19 cases

BERLIN (AA) – Germany reported more than 90,000 coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest daily total since the pandemic started.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's disease control agency, has confirmed 92,223 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, and 286 coronavirus-related fatalities.

The highly contagious omicron variant has been the driving force behind the new surge in cases. According to the RKI’s weekly report, the variant now accounts for 73% of new infections in the country.

Despite a surge in coronavirus infections, most of the cases have been mild so far, not requiring hospitalization.

Germany’s hospitalization rate stood at 3.23 per 100,000 residents on Friday, much lower than the figures seen in previous waves of the pandemic.

The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units also declined this week, according to official data. On Thursday, 2,960 intensive care unit beds were occupied, and around 3,050 beds were free.

However, public health officials are warning that omicron is spreading significantly faster than previous variants, and it could swamp the healthcare system if cases continue to climb dramatically in the coming days.