Health authorities in Germany have reported 404 new Corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) within one day. By comparison, the figure a week ago had been 455 infections. The RKI reported a seven-day incidence of 5.4 nationwide (previous day: 5.6; previous week: 8.0).

Nationwide, 57 deaths were reported within 24 hours, according to the data. A week ago, there had been 77 deaths. The number of people who died from or with the involvement of a proven infection with the Sars-CoV-2 virus thus rose to 90,819.The RKI counted 3,727,333 confirmed infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic, but the actual total number is likely to be significantly higher because many infections go undetected. The RKI reported the number of those who recovered to be approximately 3,622,600.

According to the RKI, the seven-day R value was 0.79 on Monday afternoon (previous day: 0.82). This means that 100 infected people mathematically infect 79 other people. The R-value represents in each case the infection occurrence 8 to 16 days ago. If the R-value is below 1 for a longer period of time, the incidence of infection is decreasing; if it is continuously above 1, the number of cases is increasing.

Meanwhile, the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread. According to RKI head Lothar Wieler, it probably already accounts for 50 percent of all new infections in Germany.In view of this rapid spread, the Association of Towns and Municipalities is urging that schools be quickly re-equipped. "With a view to the period after the summer vacations, the necessary organizational and spatial conditions must be created in schools as quickly as possible in order to prevent a renewed closure," said Chief Executive Gerd Landsberg to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. This demand is likely to refer, among other things, to air filters in classrooms.

"This is all the more urgent because the majority of children are not covered by the vaccination recommendation of the Stiko," Landsberg told the Blättern. A recommendation by the Standing Commission on Vaccination would also only partially solve the problem, as no vaccine has yet been approved for schoolchildren under the age of twelve or for daycare children.

In order to effectively implement the hygiene measures at schools, the municipalities as school authorities needed a funding commitment from the federal and state governments, Landsberg demanded. Time-intensive funding programs should be dispensed with, he said. "We have to keep reminding ourselves that we are still in a race against the virus and accordingly have no time to lose.