(Bloomberg) -- Germany recorded the highest number of new coronavirus cases in about six weeks and the infection rate stayed above the key threshold of 1.0.
There were 839 new infections in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, up from 595 the previous day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That compares with almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic and brought the total to 208,546. There were four fatalities, taking the overall number of deaths to 9,135.
The increase in cases this week is “very concerning,” Germany's public health institute said in its latest report, warning that a further worsening of the situation must be avoided. That will only be possible if people follow hygiene and distancing rules, the institute said.
Germany's reproduction factor -- or R value -- fell to 1.14 on Wednesday, according to the institute's latest report. The number, down from 1.25 a day earlier, means 100 infected people are estimated to spread the disease to around 114 others. A spate of smaller outbreaks has kept the figure above 1.0 for six straight days.
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