BERLIN — Germany logged a record seven-day incidence rate of over 200 on Monday, according to the latest data released by the Robert Koch Institute of infectious diseases (RKI).

The rate, which indicates the number of new COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people over the last week, is now the highest it's been since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The previous record rate of 197.6 was set on December 22, 2020 — a time before vaccines were widely available.

While it's still a lower rate than in several other European countries, it has set alarm bells ringing about what has been called a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.

RKI, Germany's national disease control center, said on Monday that 15,513 new cases had been reported over the past 24 hours — down from a record 37,120 on Friday. Figures are often lower after the weekend.

Germany has struggled to find ways to boost its much-slowed vaccination campaign. At least 67% of the country's 83 million population is fully vaccinated, according to official figures.

Unlike some other European countries, it has balked at making vaccinations mandatory for any professional group.

As at many times during the pandemic, Germany has a patchwork of regional rules. Most places restrict access to many indoor facilities and events to people who have been vaccinated, have recovered or been tested — with the latter now being excluded in some areas. Those rules are often enforced laxly.

Rules on whether schoolchildren must wear masks in class vary from state to state.

Free rapid tests for all were scrapped nearly a month ago in an effort to incentivize more people to get vaccinated. There are now widespread calls for them to be reintroduced. And officials now advocate booster vaccinations for everyone who got their initial shots six months ago or more.

Germany currently has a caretaker national government after its election in September. The parties that are expected to form the next government plan to bring legislation to parliament this week that would allow an “epidemic situation of national scope,” in place since March 2020, to expire at the end of the month but provide a new legal framework for coronavirus measures. — Agencies