The nationwide seven-day incidence has again fallen slightly.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Sunday morning as 1346.3.
For comparison: the day before the value was 1350.4.
A week ago, the nationwide incidence was 1466.5.
The health authorities in Germany reported 118,032 new corona infections to the RKI within one day.
This is evident from numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 5 a.m.
A week ago there were 125,160 infections.
Experts assume a high number of cases that are not recorded in the RKI data.
Test capacities and health authorities are therefore at the limit in many places, and contacts are only tracked to a limited extent.
In addition, there is likely to be a larger number of people who no longer have their infection confirmed by a PCR test - the infection is therefore not included in the official statistics.
According to the new information, 73 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours.
A week ago there were 58 deaths.
The RKI has counted 13,563,126 infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic.
The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections go undetected.
The number of corona-infected patients who came to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was 6.24 according to the RKI on Friday (Thursday: 5.97).
Among them are many people with a positive corona test who have another main illness.
The value is not reported on weekends.
The RKI gave the number of recovered people on Sunday as 9,673,700.
The number of people who died from or involved a proven infection with Sars-CoV-2 rose to 121,275.
It's not all over on March 20th
In the fight against the corona virus, it is becoming apparent that the mask requirement in certain areas of public life will remain in place beyond March 20th.
“We have to provide measures that no longer massively interfere with the lives of individuals.
The mask - especially the FFP2 mask - seems to be a tried and tested way to prevent infection in public spaces," said SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
The FDP, which is otherwise skeptical about further corona restrictions, has also signaled its approval.
The protective mask now has many supporters among the population: more than every second person in Germany wants to continue wearing a mask even after the mask requirement has expired, according to a representative Insa survey for the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
52 percent stated that they held on to the mask even if they were not required to do so - most of them in local transport, retail and long-distance transport.
41 percent, on the other hand, want to do without the mask as soon as this is allowed.
A majority, in turn, is in favor of maintaining the mask requirement in certain areas beyond March 20.
FDP against restrictions on fundamental rights
According to a three-stage plan by the federal and state governments, the vast majority of corona restrictions should be lifted by March 20th.
The nationwide legal basis for such measures expires on March 19.
However, basic protection, for example with compulsory masks indoors, on buses and trains and with tests, should remain possible.
A new, nationwide legal basis is being sought for this.
How this should look exactly is disputed.
The FDP in particular is against allowing broader restrictions on fundamental rights.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) said to the newspaper Rheinische Post: "At the moment, only measures with a high degree of effectiveness and a low level of intervention intensity seem conceivable to me.
In particular, these could be test strategies and the obligation to wear masks in special situations.
schools as hotspots
Federal Family Minister Anne Spiegel also believes that it is still necessary to wear masks in schools.
"I would welcome it if masks were still worn in schools - and elsewhere," said the Green politician of the picture on Sunday.
Objection came from the FDP health politician Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus.
Basically, “it should be the personal responsibility of each individual where and to what extent you wear a mask in everyday life,” she said.
"Especially for children it is important that they can go about their everyday life without a mask."
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) calls on the federal government to quickly create the basis for an extension of the mask requirement.
"The traffic light is required so that we are not delivered completely defenseless to Corona.
We need a legal basis that will continue to make it possible to wear masks and take tests,” said Söder to “Bild am Sonntag”.
This is particularly necessary for the schools: “We can only achieve the necessary safety for our students in face-to-face classes with tests and masks.”