Germany's coronavirus reproduction rate increases from 1.79 to 2.88

Germany’s coronavirus reproduction rate surged from 1.79 a day earlier to 2.88 on June 21 which indicated a rise in the coronavirus cases, health authorities said in a statement. This has scrambled the country to consider containment efforts and restrict the activities to stem the soaring infections. So far, Germany has been successful in keeping the death count low, however, the renewed outbreak of cases has challenged Europe’s largest economy to opt for strict health safety measures. 

According to a report published by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health, the rate of 2.88 implied that out of 100 people who contracted the novel coronavirus, a further 288 people will be infected. Although to keep the pandemic under control and the hospitals from being overwhelmed, this reproduction rate needed to drop below one. However, in North-Rhine Westphalia, reports of at least 1,300 people at a slaughterhouse in Guetersloh who tested positive for coronavirus emerged, which almost doubled from 803 earlier. Therefore, North-Rhine Westphalia quarantined about 7,000 people and shuttered the kindergartens and schools in the vicinity of abbatoir. 

Read: Germany Pauses Anti-malaria Drug Hydroxychloroquine Study For COVID-19

Read: Germany Aims To Lift Travel Warning For 31 European Countries From June 15

€130 billion stimulus package

Earlier, Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted as saying that while lockdown measures were integral in curbing the widespread outbreaks, the gradual ease of the restrictions had to be considered to reboot the economy. With over 191,575 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 and 8,962 fatalities, Germany has announced that it will be extending social distancing measures till June 29. Further, as per reports, both federal and state authorities would work in cooperation and take the unanimous decisions about the lockdown restrictions which have helped Germany to deal with the outbreak with a relatively low number of deaths in the last two months. Additionally, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a €130 billion stimulus package that would boost the economy that has been in shackles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Read: Germany Chancellor Defends Virus Restrictions

Read: Germany Aims To Impose Social Distancing Rules Until July 5: Report

(Image Credit: AP)