BERLIN : Germany's health minister pleaded with his compatriots Friday not to assume that the coronavirus pandemic is over as the country sees a steady rise in new cases, warning that it is still in a “critical" situation.
Germany had seen COVID-19 cases decline last month, but official figures have now shown the infection rate increasing for nine consecutive days.
Officials point to the spread of an even more contagious version of the omicron variant known as BA.2, which by this week accounted for half of cases in Germany, and to the relaxation of restrictions.
On Friday, the national disease control centre said more than 250,000 new cases had been reported in the past 24 hours, along with 249 deaths.

The infection rate stood at 1,439 new cases per 100,000 residents over seven days.

“We are in a situation that I would like to describe as critical," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters.

Source : https://www.livemint.com/news/world/omicron-ba-2-variant-spreads-in-germany-minister-says-situation-critical-11646996566489.html