The Robert Koch Institute reported more than 20.000 new coronavirus infections in Germany on Friday morning, bringing the federal republic’s total number of cases to over a million. The total number of coronavirus infections in Germany has doubled within the space of a month. 

One person died every three and a half minutes on Thursday

The one-million mark has been exceeded: health authorities across Germany recorded 22.806 new coronavirus infections in the 24 hours to Friday morning, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 1.006.394. This was announced by the Robert Koch Institute on Friday morning. 

The total number of coronavirus infections in Germany has thus doubled in the space of a single month; on October 30, the total number of cases, according to the RKI, was 500.000. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units has now increased from around 360 at the beginning of October to more than 3.800.

After hitting a record daily high on Wednesday, the number of coronavirus-related deaths rose once again in the 24 hours to Friday morning, hitting a new high of 426. On average, one person died every three and a half minutes on Thursday in connection with COVID-19. The total death toll has now climbed above 15.000, while 700.000 people are believed to have recovered.

According to researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, with the current constant infection rate of around 18.000 new cases per day, a further half a million new infections could be added to the total before the Christmas holidays. 

North Rhine-Westphalia has seen most coronavirus infections

With 602,9 new infections per 100.000 inhabitants within one week, the district of Hildburghausen in Thuringia currently has the highest coronavirus incidence rate nationwide. The state with the most confirmed coronavirus cases in North Rhine-Westphalia, where more than 250.000 infections have been confirmed. This is followed by Bavaria, with almost 198.000 cases, and Baden-Württemberg, with almost 143.000. 

On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of government of the federal states agreed to extend the partial lockdown until at least December 20, and even tighten it in some areas to try to control the wave of coronavirus infections. Speaking to the Bundestag on Thursday, Merkel said that the “dramatic, exponential  growth” has been stopped, but that there is now only a “sideways movement” and therefore no significant reduction in numbers.