German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the COVID-19 situation in Germany on Wednesday as "dramatic," saying that the fourth wave of the pandemic lashed the country "with full force."
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2021) German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the COVID-19 situation in Germany on Wednesday as "dramatic," saying that the fourth wave of the pandemic lashed the country "with full force."
"We need to state that the pandemic is not over. On the contrary, the current situation is dramatic, and I cannot call it differently. The fourth wave struck our country with full force," Merkel said at the meeting of the Association of German Cities.
The politician described the number of daily lethal cases relating to COVID-19 as "terrifying," so the upcoming Friday meeting with heads of Federal German states, according to Merkel, has a specific importance, even though, the meeting is coming "too late."
Merkel mentioned the three keys to curbing the spread of coronavirus, the first of which is controlling the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals since overcrowded hospitals "immediately" affect the health care systems of the neighboring regions, where the patients are transferred to.
The German leader also stressed the importance of vaccination and agitation campaign to persuade people to receive vaccine shots.
"Even now, it not late to decide to get the first vaccine dose, because everybody who gets vaccinated, protects themselves and their relatives. Vaccination of a significant share of the population is a way out of the pandemic," Merkel said.
Finally, the politician mentioned the need for those vaccinated to get booster shots.
For past few weeks, Germany has been registering the highest number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. In the past 24 hours, the country has logged over 50,000 new cases. The share of deadly cases is smaller now than during the previous peaks, but it is still in its highest over the past few months.
Over 67% of Germans have been fully vaccinated so far, which is one of the lowest vaccination rate in western Europe. Only over 5% of people have received booster shots in Germany.
