German Infection Rate Drops Again as New Cases Hold Steady

(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s coronavirus infection rate fell for the third day in a row, while the number of new cases stayed far below the level at the height of the outbreak.

• The reproduction factor -- or R value -- dropped to 0.66 on Thursday from 0.70 the previous day, according to the latest estimate by the country’s health body, the Robert Koch Institute. It remains well below the levels reached last month, when local outbreaks and increased testing lifted the number as high as 2.88.
• The current estimate means that 100 infected people will likely pass on the virus to a further 66. A number below 1.0 is seen as preventing a second wave of infections.
• There were 302 new cases in the 24 hours through Friday morning, bringing the total to 199,001, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That’s significantly below the almost 7,000 recorded at the peak of the pandemic in late March.
• There were 11 fatalities, taking the total number of deaths rising to 9,057. The number of deaths caused by the virus has remained under 50 for about six weeks.
• The virus reproduction factor reflects the infection situation about one to two weeks ago, according to the RKI, and reacts sensitively to short-term changes in case numbers, such as those caused by individual outbreaks.
• The RKI also provides a seven-day R value designed to compensate for fluctuations. That value was 0.86 on Thursday, up from 0.83 the previous day.

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