The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in Germany jumped sharply to 117 on Sunday, official data showed, as the interior minister said he expected a vaccine by the end of the year, AFP reported.

The latest tally, given by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's centre for disease control and prevention, showed that the number of cases had almost doubled from 66 on Saturday morning.

More than half are in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state where an infected couple attended carnival celebrations.

The deadly virus has now reached nine of Germany's 16 states, with Frankfurt, Hamburg and Bremen among the cities reporting their first COVID-19 cases.