The reproduction number of the coronavirus has risen sharply in Germany, said the country’s center for disease control, the Robert Koch Institute, on Sunday.
This figure, also called the R-number, stands at 2.88 in Germany.
An R-number of 1 means that each person with coronavirus infects one other person on average.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly warned that the country must keep the R-number below 1 to contain the disease, and that a rise in the rate could see restrictions reinforced.
This massive leap in the national R-number is due to a local outbreak at a meat processing plant in the town of Gutersloh, said the Robert Koch Institute. There are now at least 1,331 positive cases at the factory, said town authorities on Sunday.
“Since case numbers in Germany are generally low, these local outbreaks have a relatively strong influence on the value of the reproduction number,” the Robert Koch Institute said in its daily report.
