The COVID-19 death toll in Germany climbed to 75,212 as 248 new deaths were recorded in one day, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Wednesday.
Daily COVID-19 infections continued to rise sharply, with 15,813 new cases registered on Wednesday, almost 2,400 more than one week ago, according to the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.
To date, more than 2.69 million COVID-19 infections have been registered in Germany since the outbreak of the pandemic.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that it's necessary to succeed in "slowing down and reversing the third wave of the pandemic."
Merkel had announced on Tuesday that the COVID-19 lockdown in Germany would be extended until at least April 18.
The seven-day incidence rate, standing at 108.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Wednesday, remained stable compared with the previous day, the RKI noted.
Almost three months after the start of the coronavirus vaccination program in Germany, more than 3.5 million people were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 4.2 percent, according to the RKI.
