The number of new coronavirus infections in Germany topped 2,000 in the past 24 hours, a high not seen since the end of April, health authorities said Saturday.

The RKI disease control institute said it registered 2,034 new cases and seven more deaths, taking the total fatalities to 9,267 and confirmed cases to 232,082.

Read: German institute says coronavirus vaccinations could start in early 2021

Daily infection counts have increased sharply in recent days, with authorities suggesting large numbers of returning tourists — some coming from regions with elevated risk of transmission — may be bringing the virus with them.

Other experts have highlighted a big increase in the number of tests being carried out.

“The growth we're presently seeing in the number of cases is troubling,” Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday.

“We should be worried,” Seibert added, urging the public to act “responsibly” by sticking to infection control measures like social distancing and mask-wearing.