Germany’s R rate or the reproduction rate surged after a recent outbreak at a meat processing factory infected dozens. Post the outbreak, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany has reported an R rate of 2.88. This has come at a time where the country’s chancellor has repetitively said that the only way Germany could become coronavirus free was if the R rate was kept below 1. The value indicates how much the virus is spreading in the country. A reproduction rate of 1 means each person with coronavirus will infect an average of one other person.
Speaking about this, the RKI said, “Since case numbers in Germany are generally low, these local outbreaks have a relatively strong influence on the value of the reproduction number”.
Notably, Germany’s R value was at 0.75 until recently, when a meat processing plant in Gutersloh called the Tœnnies recorded 1,331 positive cases on Sunday. This incident has put the factory under intense scrutiny.
The total recorded number of coronavirus cases in Germany is 191,657, while the number of deaths stands at 8,897.