German officials warned on Friday that the third wave of coronavirus in the country would be “harder to slow down” and could be much worse than the previous two.
Why it’s important: According to Reuters, the number of new confirmed cases has increased in recent weeks, mainly due to the more transmissible variant B.1.1.7 and the relaxation of some blocking measures.
By numbers: Germany has registered 2,755,225 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 75,780 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the country’s Robert Koch Institute of Infectious Diseases (RKI).
- Germany reported 21,573 new cases on Friday, about 4,000 more cases than those reported a week ago, Deutsche Welle reported.
What they say: “There are clear signs that this wave will be worse than the first two,” RKI chief Lothar Wieler told Reuters.
- “We have very difficult weeks ahead,” he added, urging people to stay home during the Easter holidays.
The big picture: Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the government would stop implementing a stricter planned closure during the Easter holidays.
- He apologized for the plan, which received criticism and confusion from the public.
Germany’s health minister said Saturday that the country expects to receive its first small delivery of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in mid-April, according to Reuters.
- Jens Spahn warned that the first delivery would be small (around 275,000 doses), but eventually “will accelerate to millions of doses.”
- According to Reuters, the country has slowly begun its deployment of vaccines, made worse by the days of childbirth and restricted supply. About 10% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.