German New Cases Steady, Infection Rate Stays Over Key Threshold

(Bloomberg) -- Germany recorded a slight increase in the number of new coronavirus cases, and the infection rate climbed further above the key threshold of 1.0.

• There were 276 new cases in the 24 hours through Wednesday morning, bringing the total to 200,456 according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That compares with 261 the previous day and almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic in late March.
• Fatalities increased by four to 9,078. The daily death toll has remained below 50 since the end of May.
• The reproduction factor of the virus, known as R-naught, rose to 1.06 on Tuesday from 1.0 the day before, according to the latest estimate from the Robert Koch Institute. That means 100 infected people are estimated to infect 106 others. The 95% prediction interval means the number is somewhere between 0.81 and 1.26.
• The R-0 number represents the course of infection approximately one to two weeks ago and is sensitive to short-term changes, such as local outbreaks, especially if the number of new cases is relatively low, according to the health institute.
• The RKI also provides a seven-day R-value, which compensates for fluctuations. That value was 0.91 on Tuesday, up from 0.83 the previous day.
• The government is trying to keep the figure below 1.0 to prevent a second wave of infections.
• To control hot spots, Germany’s federal government is in discussions with states about rules that would prevent people from traveling in and out of areas hit by a sudden outbreak, Angela Merkel said Tuesday. Residents would only be allowed to leave if they have a negative test, the chancellor said, noting that she supports the plan.

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