Sharjah24 – AFP: Germany's Covid-19 incidence rate surged to over 150 for the first time since May on Monday, prompting concerns of a rampant fourth wave as the country wrestles with a change of government.
The number of new infections per 100,000 people over the past seven days reached 154.8, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) health agency -- up from 110.1 a week ago.
Outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday called for swift measures to tackle the "very worrying" trend, stressing that Germany could not afford to wait until a new government is in place.
Merkel is due to step down as the German leader after 16 years in power, with three parties currently in talks to form the next government after an election in September.
The veteran leader also gave her backing to third "booster" jabs, saying Germany "must do something" to ensure they are widely available.
But with just 66.7 percent of the population fully inoculated, around a third of Germans are yet to have a jab at all.
In a Forsa survey carried out for the health ministry and published Thursday, 65 percent of unvaccinated respondents declared there was "no way" they would take a Covid jab and 23 percent were "reluctant".
At the same time, health professionals have reported a new influx of infected people into hospital, mostly unvaccinated.
Germany recorded 9,658 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours on Monday and 23 deaths, according to the RKI.
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