Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Germany reported 2,034 new cases of COVID-19, its highest daily spike since April, public health officials said Saturday.
The Robert Koch Institute, a German federal government agency and research institute for disease control and prevention, reported the new cases in a daily situation report, along with seven new deaths.
Those numbers brought total COVID-19 cases in Germany to 233,353 and total deaths to 9,272, according to the Johns Hopkins University global tracker.
The institute noted that the number of states across the country reporting zero cases over a seven-day period has decreased over the past few weeks. Outbreaks are being reported in nursing homes, hospitals, facilities for asylum-seekers and refugees, meat-processing plants, and occupational and educational settings.
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Researchers added that a large percentage of COVID-19 cases are coming from travelers to Germany.
The rise comes amid a parade this weekend celebrating LGBTQ pride in Munster in commemoration of Christopher Street Day, a reference to the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City on Christopher Street. The celebration usually takes place in June, but was postponed to August because of the pandemic.
Germany reported its peak in daily cases from late March to the beginning of April with more than 6,000 cases a day. Saturday was the country's highest daily increase in cases since April 26.
In South Korea, new cases surpassed 300 again Saturday.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 332 new cases, including 315 local cases and 17 new imported cases, and no new deaths.
The daily increase brings total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began to 17,002 with 309 deaths.
The number of new cases also marks the largest daily increase since March 8. It's also the first time since Jan. 20 that all of the country's 17 major cities and provinces reported COVID-19 cases.
Due to the increase, the government said Saturday that it would impose stricter social distancing outside the greater Seoul area starting Sunday.
In Australia, a growing cluster of cases at a youth detention center in Brisbane has prompted stricter COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings in southeast Queensland.
The Queensland government linked six new cases to the Brisbane youth detention center Saturday. A 77-year-old supervisor tested positive for the virus at the detention center earlier this week bringing the total number of cases at the center to seven.
New restrictions include limiting gatherings in private homes and public spaces to no more than 10 people.
Queensland has had 1,103 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and six deaths.
Australia, as a whole, has reported 24,602 cases and 485 deaths.
Worldwide, COVID-19 has infected more than 23 million people and killed over 800,500.
The United States is the current epicenter of the pandemic, with over 5.6 million cases and over 175,500 deaths followed by Brazil, which has over 3.5 million cases and over 113,300 deaths.
