Coronavirus cases in Germany rise to 143,457, death toll at 4,598

Germany continued to report a much lower daily infection figure compared to those at the peak time of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of new cases increased by 1,785 over the past 24 hours to 143,457, fresh figures showed on Tuesday.

At the height of the pandemic in Germany, more than 6,000 new infection cases had been recorded in a single day by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention.

"We have achieved a lot in recent weeks," said RKI Vice President Lars Schaade. However, the situation in Germany was "still serious."

The number of deaths from the new coronavirus increased by 194 in the past 24 hours to 4,598, according to RKI. The estimated number of people in Germany who had already recovered from COVID-19 went up by around 3,700 within one day to 95,200 on Tuesday.

"There is no end of the epidemic in sight, the number of cases may rise again," stressed Schaade. Without a vaccine, there would be no return to normality.

Across Germany, distance requirements of at least 1.5 meters in public, as well as contact restrictions, have been extended until May 3 and some states have made the wearing of face masks mandatory.

On the other hand, some restrictions in Germany have been eased. Since Monday, shops with a maximum sales area of up to 800 square meters were allowed to open under new regulations for hygiene as well as access and queue control.

"Even if there are no more cases in Germany, we must adhere to distance rules," said Schaade, adding that it would be possible at any time that the coronavirus could be brought back to Germany from abroad.

In German hospitals, 229 COVID-19 patients from other European countries, mainly from France, Italy and the Netherlands, had been treated in recent weeks, according to the government.

German Minister of Health Jens Spahn on Tuesday talked about the country's "willingness and capacity" to treat more patients from abroad in German hospitals if necessary.