COVID-19: Germany Seeing Signs Of Decline In New Cases

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Germany is seeing tentative signs that a surge in coronavirus infections may be easing, officials said Thursday, giving credit to anti-transmission measures that they warned would have to be maintained through winter and beyond.

“The curve is flattening,” said Lothar Wieler, who heads the country’s disease control agency RKI.

Falling daily new infection figures show “we are not helpless against this virus” and that restrictions such as social distancing and mask wearing can help halt the march of Covid-19, he added.

Germany reported 21,866 new cases of Covid-19 over the last 24 hours, according to RKI data.

AFP reports that the key reproduction figure has fallen below 1 to 0.89, meaning that 100 people are passing on the virus to 89 others — a sign that transmission is slowing.

Despite the encouraging data, the Robert Koch Institute chief said the situation could worsen in the coming weeks in hospitals, which may “reach their limits”.

“We must prevent the situation from deteriorating,” he said, stressing Germany’s aim is to bring infection numbers down to a level that the healthcare system can cope with.

Wieler urged Germans to keep social contacts to a minimum, saying the so-called AHA-L measures would still be necessary even if a vaccine is available because it will take time to roll out the jabs.

Under Germany’s AHA-L rule mantra, individuals are urged to maintain distances of at least 1.5 metres (five feet), wash their hands regularly, wear masks in indoors or crowded outdoor places as well as airing out rooms.