BERLIN, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Germany's seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate rose to a new record high of 553.2 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants from 387.9 a week ago, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Tuesday.
The RKI registered 74,405 new infections in the past 24 hours, around 29,000 more than a week earlier. Last Friday, the figure exceeded 90,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic in Germany.
However, the actual number of new infections could be even higher, as the country's laboratories and health departments are reportedly becoming overwhelmed.
"In northern Germany, the testing laboratories' capacities have already reached their limit," Andreas Bobrowski, chair of the Association of German Laboratory Physicians (BDL), told the German news agency dpa, adding that more than 90 percent of the new COVID-19 infections in the country were due to the Omicron variant.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on Monday warned against underestimating Omicron. Mandatory vaccination was the way to provide the protection needed to avoid having to fight COVID-19 variants in the autumn, he said at a press conference.
As of Monday, 72.8 percent of Germany's population had been fully vaccinated, with at least 39.6 million booster shots administered, according to official figures. However, 20.7 million people in Germany are still unvaccinated. ■
