With Covid-19 cases again on the rise, German officials 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, AP reports.

The relevance of that figure is increasingly being called into question by those who argue that a sharp rise in new cases already seen in other European countries such as Britain and the Netherlands doesn't necessarily mean many more seriously ill patients.

Because the at-risk groups are vaccinated, a high incidence doesn't automatically mean an equally high burden on intensive care beds, Health Minister Jens Spahn said.