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Germany’s Virus Infection Rate Jumps on Slaughterhouse Outbreak

Germany’s Virus Infection Rate Jumps on Slaughterhouse Outbreak

Germany’s coronavirus infection rate rose for a third day, lifted by local outbreaks including in the region of North Rhine-Westphalia, where more than 1,300 people working at a slaughterhouse tested positive.

  • The reproduction factor of the virus climbed to 2.88 on Sunday, from 1.79 the day before, according to the latest estimate by the country’s health body, the Robert Koch Institute. The estimate means that out of 100 people who get infected, a further 288 people are likely to contract the virus.
  • Since case numbers in Germany are generally low, local outbreaks have a relatively strong influence on the value, according to the RKI.
  • “Further developments need to be monitored closely during the upcoming days, especially in regard to whether case numbers are increasing outside of outbreak contexts.”
  • The government is trying to keep the figure below 1.0 to prevent exponential growth in the number of cases and a second wave of infections.
  • There were 602 new infections in Germany in the 24 hours through Monday morning, bringing the total to 191,272, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That compares with 486 on average over the past seven days and almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic in late March.
  • The number of fatalities was unchanged from Sunday at 8,895.
  • In NRW, 1,331 people working at a meat plant in Guetersloh were positive for coronavirus, out of 6,139 tested, according to the local authority.
  • NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet said that there is an “enormous pandemic risk,” and the state has placed 7,000 in quarantine. He did not rule out a broader lockdown, but said he’d wait for advice from the RKI. The institute has sent three experts to the region and their assessment is expected in coming days.
  • The RKI also provides a seven-day R-value, which compensates for fluctuations. That value was 2.03 on Sunday, up from 1.55 the previous day.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.