German New Virus Cases Rise Above 1,000, Infection Rate Drops

(Bloomberg) --

Germany’s new coronavirus cases rose above 1,000 for the first time in 11 days, while the infection rate dropped further below the key threshold of 1.0.

• There were 1,227 new cases in the 24 hours through Wednesday morning, bringing the total to 177,778, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That’s up from 182 on Tuesday but still well below the three-day average of about 2,700 a month ago
• Fatalities increased by less than 100 for the sixth day in a row, rising by 78 to 8,081
• The reproduction factor of the virus, known as R-naught, dropped to 0.86 on Tuesday from 0.91 the day before, according to the latest estimate from the Robert Koch Institute
• The RKI also provides a 7-day R-value, which compensates for fluctuations. That value was 0.81 on Tuesday, down slightly from 0.82 the previous day
• The R-0 figure reflects the number of additional cases generated by one infected person. Authorities consider it important to keep the number below 1.0 to prevent exponential growth that could overwhelm the health system
• NOTE: Chancellor Angela Merkel will chair a cabinet meeting Wednesday with the issue of protecting meat industry workers on the agenda

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