Germany's coronavirus infection rate reaches three-month high

Germany's government has urged citizens to keep their guard up and stick to public health guidelines, as new Covid-19 infections hit a three-month high and schools reopened in the country's most populous state. Germany's response so far has widely been seen as successful in slowing the spread of the pandemic efficiently and quickly, but the country's disease control authority today reported 1,226 new infections, the highest number since early May, although the figure has topped 1,000 on several days recently. Health minister Jens Spahn said smaller and mid-sized outbreaks have occurred in almost all regions, largely driven by travellers returning from abroad and people partying or having family gatherings. 'This is worrying, without doubt,' he told Deutschlandfunk radio. 'And it can naturally lead to a new dynamic, if we don't all now exercise caution.' In the early days of the pandemic the average age of people infected was 50; it is now 34.