Video PlayerClose

BERLIN, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- In the event of a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, 77 percent of German citizens expect stricter restrictions to return, according to a Politbarometer survey published by German public broadcaster ZDF Friday.

Only 21 percent did not expect an increase of COVID-19 infections would lead to stricter restrictions, the survey among more than 1,200 Germans showed.

On Thursday, the number of new daily infections in Germany leaped to more than 4,000. The figure continued to increase Friday, rising by 4,516 daily cases to a total of 314,660, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

Germany's Minister of Health Jens Spahn expressed his concern over the recent rise in COVID-19 infections and called on the public to be vigilant during a press conference Thursday.

"It is up to us, to all of us, whether we manage to secure what has been achieved," said Spahn. "We need each other as citizens in order to defeat this virus. Together we will make the decisive difference."

Despite rising COVID-19 numbers, only around one in two Germans believed that the coronavirus would endanger their personal health. The result was almost unchanged compared to previous surveys.

Two thirds of the Germans thought that citizens from risk areas within the country should be quarantined similar to travelers from international risk areas, the survey found.

COVID-19 cases in the country's larger cities saw a particular sharp rise recently. Parts of Germany's capital Berlin, Bremen as well as Frankfurt exceeded the critical threshold of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days, triggering an emergency mechanism that was agreed between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country's federal states. Enditem