Germany’s death toll increases to 5,913 as mandatory mask wearing comes into force

The number of persons infected by coronavirus in Germany increased by  another 1,144 to 156,337, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases published this morning.

The death toll rose by 163 to 5,913, according to the same source. This signified an increase of 53 deaths on the day before.

The institute estimated that a total of 117,400 people have now recovered from the infection.

Starting this week, wearing face masks in public is compulsory in all of Germany’s 16 states despite a number of differences. Berlin has one of the least restrictive regimes in place, with masks only required on public transport. On the other hand, in North Rhine-Westphalia, wearing a face mask will be mandatory for public transport, retail shops, medical practices and for trades and services if a distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained.

Despite the WHO not formalising any recommendation in this sense, mandatory mask-wearing has caught up in Central-Eastern Europe, with Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic also introducing requirements in this sense.

This protective measure was taken as the country started to ease off social restrictions imposed in March to combat the spreading of the pandemic.