Germany's coronavirus situation is dramatic, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday (November 16), calling for a push to distribute booster shots faster and appealing to those skeptical of vaccination to change their minds.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Robert Koch Institute reported that confirmed cases had increased by 52,826 as the pandemic's fourth wave tightened its grip on Europe.
"It is not at all too late to decide for a first vaccination," she told a congress of German city mayors to applause, adding "everyone who gets vaccinated protects himself and others."
Germany's seven-day incidence rate - the number of people per 100,000 to be infected over the last week - rose to 319 on Wednesday, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.
The eastern German Meissen district topped RKI's list with a seven-day incidence rate of 1,304 cases.
REUTERS