Germany’s New Cases, Number Of Deaths at Lowest in Five Weeks

(Bloomberg) --

Germany reported the lowest number of new coronavirus infections and deaths since at least March 30, as the country continues a gradual easing of curbs on public life and allows the economy to slowly restart.

There were 697 new cases in Germany in the 24 hours since Sunday, compared with 890 a day earlier, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Fatalities rose by 54 to 6,866, compared with an increase of 76 the day before. Confirmed cases now total 165,664.

Germany has slowly eased restrictions on public activity in the past few weeks as the government seeks to strike a balance between reigniting the economy and avoiding a second wave of infections.

Monday is the first day that people can visit hair salons, while playgrounds, zoos, museums and churches are also allowed to reopen. Many secondary and primary students are returning to school.

Some regional states have moved faster with the easing of restrictions than others. From Monday, the state of Saxony-Anhalt will allow up to five people to gather outside together for the first time in six weeks. Nationwide guidelines say people can spend time with members of their own household or one other person.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the regional state premiers are meeting on Wednesday to consider bigger easing steps. By then, the government is hoping to have more reliable data on the impact of initial measures that started on April 20, such as the reopening of some shops.

With the fifth-highest number of cases in Europe, Merkel is wary of moving too fast in easing controls that helped slow the pandemic. “Since April 12, we have had more recoveries every day than new infections and that shows that the strict limits on daily life are working,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said Sunday in an interview with ARD TV.

Other countries are also experimenting with reopening. Italy is allowing construction and manufacturing activities to restart. The next stage of Spain's lockdown phase-out also starts on Monday, when restaurants, stores, bars and hotels on four islands will reopen under strict rules. Spaniards were allowed out to exercise for the first time in seven weeks starting last Saturday.

Germany is closely tracking what's known as the reproduction factor -- called R-naught by epidemiologists -- which reflects the number of additional coronavirus cases directly generated by one infected person. The goal is to keep that number low in order to avoid exponential growth and overload the health care system.

The country's latest R0 declined to 0.74 from 0.78 the previous day, according to the latest situation report from the country's public health authority published Sunday. That means that each person with the virus infects an average of 0.74 other people. The data is based on cases notified as of midnight May 3.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.