GERMAN MINISTER SAYS VACCINATIONS NOT ENOUGH TO STOP 3RD WAVE

A third wave of coronavirus infections has hit Germany and it will not be stopped by vaccinations alone, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said, Marco Hadem reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Speaking ahead of a summit between Germany's federal and state governments about the vaccination drive, Spahn said that "there are not yet enough vaccine doses in Europe to stop the third wave by vaccination alone."

"Even if the deliveries from EU orders come reliably, it will still take a few weeks until the risk groups are fully vaccinated," he said, adding that the increasing number of new infections meant that Germany could go back into a hard lockdown.

Germany has entered its third wave of infections, with its caseload - especially cases of the more contagious British coronavirus variant - on the rise again.

The number of new infections per 100,000 residents during the course of seven days rose to 95.6 on Thursday, having stood at 90 the day before, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control. When the metric reaches 100, Germany is expected to return to a hard lockdown. Spahn confirmed that this would be discussed at Friday's summit.

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