A spike in new cases of coronavirus has unnerved Germans who have watched as its reproduction rate jumped to 2.88. The Robert Koch Institute which studies infectious diseases reported the average 4-day ‘R’ value, adding that the 7-day average had increased from 1.55 on Saturday to 2.03 as of Sunday. Whether or not this sudden jump should be viewed with fear or not is unclear, as it’s being blamed primarily on local outbreaks in North Rhine-Westphalia, where more than 1,300 meat-processing plant employees tested positive. But officials were also so anxious to contain the outbreak at a residential complex in the town of Göttingen that it fenced off the building to keep the residents in. Over 120 residents tested positive in the building, but all 700 are being quarantined in the complex by security forces. The situation has led to tensions and conflicts that left several policemen injured as residents hurled rocks and other items at them from windows above.
