Berlin, Aug 26 (IANS): Daily Covid-19 infections in Germany have continued to rise sharply, with 11,561 new cases registered in one day compared to 3,237 more than one week ago, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Covid-19 incidence in Germany reached 61.3 cases per 100,000 citizens, up from 58.0 on Tuesday and 40.8 a week ago, according to the federal government agency for disease control and prevention, Xinhua news agency reported.

As the country's vaccination campaign advances, a growing number of politicians is urging that current Covid-19 rules should not be extended.

"We now need a regulation that fits the new situation and takes vaccination numbers into account, not a continuation," Green Party faction leader Katrin Goering Eckhardt told RND on Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week urged Germans to get vaccinated, warning that the vaccination rate is not high enough yet while the country is facing a possible fourth wave of the pandemic later this year.

According to RKI, around 49.4 million people in Germany were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 59.4 per cent. More than 53.5 million Germans have now received at least one dose.

At the same time, 441 newly hospitalised Covid-19 patients were being treated in German hospitals, while the seven-day incidence of hospitalised cases in the country stood at 1.47 per 100,000 residents, according to the RKI.