Berlin, Jan 29 : For the first time since October 2020, the Covid-19 incidence in Germany fell below 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the federal government's agency for disease control and prevention announced. The nationwide seven-day Covid-19 incidence hit 98 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Xinhua news agency quoted the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) as saying in a statement issued on Thursday. The number of new infections registered within seven days roughly halved since the peak just before Christmas. Over the past months, Chancellor Angela Merkel repeatedly emphasized that a primary goal was to get the seven-day incidence below the threshold of 50 in order to avoid overburdening Germany's health system and to be able to fully trace infection chains once again. Daily Covid-19 infections stood at 17,553 cases on Thursday, below the previous week's level, according to the RKI. So far, 2,194,562 coronavirus cases have been officially registered in Germany since the onset of the pandemic. The number of daily deaths, 941 on Thursday, remained at a high level, the RKI noted. The peak of 1,244 deaths related to Covid-19 within a day was reached two weeks ago. Germany's official Covid-19 death toll currently stood at 55,450, according to the RKI. To stop the spread of Covid-19 in the country, Germany entered a second lockdown at the beginning of November 2020. The lockdown, failing to reverse the trend in infections, was tightened and recently extended until mid-February. Non-essential shops, schools and restaurants in Germany are closed and strict contact restrictions apply. /IANS