Delta variant: Angela Merkel warned of exponential growth of cases in Germany | “We will have doubled the infections in less than two weeks,” said the German Chancellor.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concern over ‘exponential growth’ in coronavirus cases, in particular due to the progression of Delta variant. “Each vaccine is a return to normal”, appreciated Merkel, who insisted that the objective of the authorities is to avoid an overload of the German health system due to a further increase in infections. In this sense, the Chancellor asked the population to continue to respect precautionary measures such as the use of masks and respect for social distancing.

“We have an exponential growth in infections. This dynamic strikes me as worrying,” Merkel said at a press conference from Berlin. “We have to assume that we will have double the infections in less than two weeks.”, noted the German Chancellor.

Since mid-July, the number of new daily cases of covid-19 has exceeded a thousand on average: el Instituto Robert Koch health surveillance reported on Thursday that detected 1890 cases in 24 hours.

Faced with the advance of Delta variant, which has already become the main in Germany and much of Europe, the Chancellor said vaccination is more important than ever. “Every vaccination counts. Each vaccination is a step, a small step, towards a return to normalcy for all. The more we vaccinate, the more we will be free again. Not only as individuals, but also as a community, ”he said.

“A vaccine protects you and the people you love. To all those who have already been vaccinated, I say: try to mobilize yourself and convince others, either with family, with friends, on the football field, ”insisted Merkel during her usual summer press conference, the 29th since she became Chancellor and perhaps the last, because she has already announced that she will not be a candidate for the legislative elections of September 26.

Until Germany vaccinated 60.4% of its population with a single dose and 48% with both, although the vaccination rate has slowed in recent weeks. It should be remembered that vaccination against covid-19 in the country is not compulsory.

Merkel has left open the possibility of resorting to further restrictions if the number of infections continues to rise in a “looming fourth wave” so as not to “overload the health system”. Health Minister Jens Spahn spoke in the same vein on Wednesday.

According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, 91,477 people have died and more than 3.7 million have been infected with the coronavirus in Germany since the start of the pandemic. Germany’s infection rate is still low compared to other European countries, although the risk of a marked increase in Delta variant infections has revived the debate on the need to reimpose restrictions on public life which have increased in recent weeks.