BERLIN, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- For the first time since early July, the seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate in Germany fell from 75.8 cases per 100,000 residents on Monday to 74.8 cases on Tuesday, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said.

Since sinking to its recent low of 4.9 cases around two months ago, the figure has been increasing steadily as Germany is bracing for the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. A week ago, the incidence rate stood at 58.0, the RKI said.

The number of daily infections has been steady in recent days as 5,750 new cases were registered within one day on Tuesday, only three more than seven days ago, according to the RKI.

While the COVID-19 vaccination certificate already brings benefits in social life, so far it has played almost no role at work. A regulation could soon come into effect in Germany, however, that would allow employers to query employees' vaccination status in order to protect the workforce.

"If everyone in the open-plan office is vaccinated, I can deal with it differently than if there are 50 percent who are not vaccinated," Minister of Health Jens Spahn said on Monday on public television ARD.

As of Tuesday, almost 50.3 million people in Germany have been fully vaccinated, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 60.5 percent, according to the RKI. More than 54 million people in the country have received at least one vaccine dose. Enditem

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