The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany jumped by 29,426 to 3.073 million, the biggest increase since Jan 8 as the government seeks to push through tougher nationwide curbs to try to contain a third wave of the virus, Reuters reported.

The reported death toll rose by 293 to 79,381 while the number of new infections per 100,000 residents over seven days rose to 160.1, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.

Germany is grappling with a more transmissible variant of Covid-19 five months before a national election in which Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are forecast to suffer major losses.