Germany’s Covid incidence rate rises sharply

DW – Germany’s seven-day incidence rate for coronavirus infections on Saturday continued its rise of the past few days, reaching 76.1 cases per 100,000 residents. That represents a sharp increase over Friday, where the rate was 72.4, itself a marked jump from the day before.

The figure is used as a guideline by German authorities to help determine when lockdown measures should be imposed. A week ago, the incidence rate was at 65.6.

A man walks past a closed cosmetics store in Bonn, Germany, 13 March 2021. Following the nationwide store closures due to the second lockdown in times of the corona pandemic since spring 2020, many stores nationwide have filed for insolvency. EPA-EFE/SASCHA STEINBACH

Based on the current trends, however, the Robert Koch Institute also predicted that the incidence could climb much higher in the coming weeks and reach 350 by mid-April. The experts said the number of new infections around Easter would likely be comparable to the one seen around Christmas, with nearly 32,200 infections reported on December 24.

Last week, Germany eased some curbs but state premiers agreed the harshest measures would be automatically reimposed if the rate went above 100. 

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