More than two million COVID-19 infections have already been officially registered in Germany since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Friday.
A total of 22,368 new cases were reported within one day, slightly below last week's level, according to RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.
Deaths related to COVID-19 were on a high level and increased by 1,113 within one day on Friday, bringing the toll in the country to 44,994, according to the RKI. On Thursday, Germany reported a new record of 1,244 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours.
If Germany had not implemented the COVID-19 measures and a lockdown, "we would be in a much worse situation," RKI President Lothar Wieler told the German broadcaster ARD on Thursday.
However, Wieler reiterated that the measures taken so far in the fight against the coronavirus would not be enough. There were areas, such as mobility, where the implementation of the measures "does not work optimally."
Germany entered a lockdown with non-essential shops, schools, bars and restaurants closed until at least the end of January. Because of the continuing high infection rates and great concern about the coronavirus mutations, the discussion about tightening the lockdown soon is picking up speed.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was planning to move the next meeting with the minister presidents of Germany's federal states to next week, instead of Jan. 25 as originally planned, German media reported.
"If these mutants are spreading, then they are spreading faster. And if they spread faster, then more people will be infected," Wieler stressed, adding that this was a worrying scenario.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, 236 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 63 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Jan. 12.
