Germany has exceeded 50,000 Covid cases for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic as it recorded, 50,196 new COVID-19 infections yesterday, according to health authorities.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has described the rise in infections as "dramatic".

Her spokesperson said, the pandemic is returning in a new spectacular fashion and called on regional authorities to take further steps to quell the outbreak.

Germany's relatively low vaccination rates of just over 67 percent are also cited as one of the reasons for the outbreak.

From Monday, Berlin will ban unvaccinated people from entering restaurants, terraces, bars, sports halls, and hairdressers.

Over 4.9 million people have been infected by COVID-19 in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic