Just as Germany took its first steps out of the lockdown, new figures showed that the coronavirus infection rate has increased.
According to the latest official figures, the rate of infections has risen again and stands at 1,0, which means each infected person in Germany is now infecting one other person. Authorities have said that the pandemic will only subside if this key figure is less than one. Earlier, it had settled around the 0,9 mark, after standing at 3,0 at the beginning of March.
The number of new cases is also not falling as quickly as it has over the past few days.
Angela Merkel
Chancellor Angela Merkel last week warned against relaxing restrictions too quickly: “The curve has got flatter, but it still has to be in a shape that doesn’t overburden our health system”, she said.
“Even if we assume that one person infects 1,1 others, we would reach the limits of what our health system and intensive care beds can manage in October. If we assume a rate of 1,2 we would reach the health system’s limit in July. And with a rate of 1,3 we would get there in June”, she added.
