Christian Drosten, one of Germany's top virologists, has warned that a further 100,000 people will die from Covid-19 if nothing is done to halt an aggressive fourth wave, the BBC reported. Case numbers have soared as Germany on Wednesday registered its highest rate of infection since the pandemic began, with almost 40,000 cases in a day.

"We have to act right now," said Drosten, who described a real emergency situation, the report said. Doctors in the intensive care Covid ward at Leipzig University Hospital have warned that this fourth wave could be the worst yet. The state of Saxony has the highest seven-day infection rate in Germany at 459 cases per 100,000 people. The national rate is 232.