Berlin, Aug 24 (IANS): Daily Covid-19 infections in Germany continued to rise as 3,668 new cases were registered within one day, 1,542 more than one week ago, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Monday.

The country's seven-day incidence rate, which already climbed above 50 over the weekend, went up to 56.4 per 100,000 people on Monday, according to RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention. A week ago, the seven-day coronavirus case rate was still 36.2, Xinhua news agency reported.

Health Minister Jens Spahn told German public television broadcasters ARD and ZDF on Monday that it is "outdated" to impose stricter Covid-19 measures on the basis of an incidence of 50 or higher.

Hospitalization figures should become the new reference before the national elections in September, he said.

On Monday, 87 new hospitalized Covid-19 cases were reported in German hospitals, meaning that the seven-day incidence rate of hospitalized cases in the country stood at 1.28 cases per 100,000 residents, the RKI data showed.

As of Sunday, 712 Covid-19 cases in Germany were undergoing intensive medical treatment, 31 more than the day before, representing 3.2 percent of all Covid-19 cases, according to the RKI.