German Coronavirus Infection Rate Inches Up, New Cases Steady

(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s coronavirus infection rate rose slightly, while remaining below the key threshold of 1.0 for a 12th day, and the number of new cases held far below the level at the height of the outbreak.

• The reproduction factor -- or R value -- edged up to 0.96 on Sunday, from 0.93 the previous day, according to the latest estimate by the country’s health body, the Robert Koch Institute. It remains well below the levels it reached last month, when local outbreaks and increased testing lifted the number as high as 2.88.
• The current estimate means that out of 100 people infected, a further 96 are likely to contract the virus. A number below 1.0 is seen as preventing exponential growth in the number of cases and a second wave of infections.
• There were 325 new cases in the 24 hours through Monday morning, compared with 418 recorded the previous day, and bringing the total to 197,523, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That compares with an average of 391 in the past 7 days and almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic in late March.
• There were three new fatalities, with the total number of deaths rising to 9,023.

• The virus reproduction factor may continue to fluctuate markedly, according to the RKI, since the current low number of new cases means that local incidents have a relatively strong influence.
• The RKI also provides a seven-day R value designed to compensate for fluctuations. That value was 0.94 on Sunday, unchanged from the previous day.

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