A customer leaves a pizza restaurant with take-away food in Berlin, capital of Germany, Nov. 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
New COVID-19 infections in Germany increased by 10,824 within one day, bringing the total to 801,327, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Monday.
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported last Monday was higher at 13,363, according to data from RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention. The peak was reached last Friday with 23,542 recorded cases.
"The numbers are stabilizing a bit. But too slowly," German Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted speaking at a committee meeting of her party -- the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) -- by the German Press Agency (dpa).
Germany entered a partial lockdown in November in reaction to the second COVID-19 wave and rising infection numbers. During the month-long lockdown, stricter contact restrictions apply and restaurants and bars are closed.
Merkel is scheduled to discuss current COVID-19 measures on Monday with minister presidents of Germany's federal states, possibly extending the tougher restrictions into December.
German media reported that the government proposed tougher contact restrictions including no private celebrations until Christmas as well as a general obligation to wear masks in schools and in the classroom.
According to an ongoing survey by the market research company YouGov, around 65 percent of German citizens support the government plans to tighten contact rules and generally limit private meetings to one additional household.
Coronavirus-related deaths in Germany increased by 62 on Monday to a total of 12,547. The number of COVID-19 patients who need intensive care treatment continued to rise to 3,385 by Sunday, the latest daily situation report from the RKI found.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, countries including Germany, France, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are racing to find a vaccine.
According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Nov. 12, there were 212 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 48 of them were in clinical trials.
