BERLIN: Germany's success in dealing with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in March and April had led many to doubt the virus's severity or even existence, the head of Germany's public health agency said.

Describing the result as a so-called "prevention paradox", Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, said this meant many were now failing to take social distancing and quarantine seriously enough, leading to the sharp second-wave increase in cases Germany is now seeing.

He said that as more people experienced the disease, either directly or in their immediate environment, he expected the level of compliance with social distancing guidelines would rise.