BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – Measures taken by German officials to slow the spread of the coronavirus are starting to show effect, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control said on Friday.
“We are seeing that the spread of the virus is getting slower… it’s working,” said RKI president Lothar Wieler, stressing that restrictions on public life “need to be maintained” and it was too early to claim victory.
Wieler explained that each person who had caught the virus was now infecting only one person on average, where previously that number had been as high as seven.
“If the number is below one, then it means the epidemic is slowly easing up. That is our aim,” he said.
“We know that we have pushed the number down to one with the measures, and we hope to push it down further.”
Wieler nonetheless urged the public to keep observing government restrictions, which include a ban on public gatherings of more than two people and a requirement to stay at least 1.5 metres (five feet) from others at all times.
“I need to say very clearly: the measures need to be maintained. Keeping your distance and staying at home is imperative, otherwise we will not push the number under one,” he said.