Germany to base COVID restrictions on more than case numbers FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press FacebookTwitterEmail A student of a graduating class is vaccinated at the vaccination center at Messe Munich, Germany, Monday, July 12, 2021. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)Sven Hoppe/AP BERLIN (AP) — With COVID-19 cases again on the rise, German officials said on Monday said that authorities need a “broader focus” beyond the country’s infection rate to fully gauge the impact the pandemic is having on the health system and the kind of measures that should be taken. For much of the past year the incidence rate — how many COVID-19 cases are confirmed per 100,000 people each week — has been key to the government's decisions over what restrictive measures to impose.