UPDATE - Germany reports record-high 39,676 new COVID-19 cases

UPDATES WITH LATEST DATA ON HOSPITALIZATIONS, VACCINATION RATE

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Wednesday hit its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began last year, pushing authorities to consider tighter measures.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 39,676 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, and 236 more virus-related deaths.

The country’s active cases climbed to 331,200, marking a new high in the current fourth wave of the pandemic, according to the official data.

There were 2,739 seriously ill coronavirus patients in intensive care units on Wednesday, with 1,403 of them on mechanical ventilators.

New cases have jumped sharply in recent weeks in the eastern regions of Saxony and Thuringia, which have the lowest vaccination rates among the 16 federal states.

Karl Lauterbach, politician and health expert with Germany's Social Democrats, has called for stricter measures, which may include new restrictions for the unvaccinated.

He told the RND media network that the country should now either impose a new lockdown, or implement the “2G rule” in all federal states, allowing only vaccinated and recovered people to access indoor public spaces.

Germany’s prospective three-party coalition government has so far ruled out another nationwide lockdown, and Saxony became the first state on Monday implementing the 2G rule to enter many areas of public life, such as restaurants, cafes, and cultural facilities.

The RKI had warned last week that infections are likely to rise in Germany, as people spend more time indoors during the colder months, and while a large number of people remain unvaccinated.

So far, 55.9 million people, or 67.3% of the population, in Germany have been fully vaccinated.