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 The number of new reported coronavirus cases rose by 14,356 data
from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed, almost 2,500 more than
a week ago and the biggest daily increase since Feb. 4.
RKI President Lothar Wieler said he was very concerned by the rising
numbers given there were still many vulnerable people that needed to
be vaccinated.
"In Germany particularly, I see the beginning of the third wave," he
told a U.N. briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, urging people to stick
to the physical distancing rules and wear masks.
"We have to vaccinate as soon as possible, as much as possible,
strategically," he added, noting the incidence of the virus had
declined "tremendously" in those aged over 80, but was rising in
other age groups.
Germany's vaccination campaign has got off to a sluggish start,
hampered by a shortage of doses and bureaucracy. Only 6.9% of the 83
million population has received at least a first dose against the
coronavirus, far behind countries such as Britain, Israel and the
United States.
The head of the German Ethics Council called for the government to
let surgeries start administering shots as soon as possible. "It's
an ethical imperative to make progress on vaccination now," Alena
Buyx told RTL/nTV television.
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 On Wednesday, regional and
national health ministers agreed family doctors
should start administering shots from mid-April.
But they also decided that mass vaccination
centres should still continue to receive at
least 2.25 million doses per week.
This means doses will not be available in
sufficient supplies for doctors' surgeries until
May, the head of the KBV doctors' association
told ZDF television.
The premier of Saxony Michael Kretschmer,
however, rejected the criticism, telling ZDF
that mass vaccination centres had the highest
throughput and remained the fastest way to get
shots in arms.
(Reporting by Caroline Copley and Andreas Rinke;
Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in
Geneva; Editing by Alison Williams)
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