BERLIN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Exactly one year ago today, the first COVID-19 case in Germany was officially confirmed. Since then, more than 2.16 million COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Wednesday.
"A year ago today, not everyone realized that we would be living in a pandemic," Chancellor Angela Merkel said during her speech on Tuesday during the virtual annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), adding "Our lives over the next few years would be shaped by the deep traces of the pandemic in our economy and society."