OUTBREAK IS NOW ‘MANAGEABLE,’ OFFICIALS SAY

BERLIN Germany has achieved one of its key targets in making the outbreak in the country “manageable”, health authorities announced Friday.

The spread has slowed to the point where those infected pass it on to a number averaging under one person.

The reproduction factor, or R0, is 0.7 in Germany, meaning every 10 people with the virus infect on average just seven others. That compares with an estimated German R0 of 3-4 at the start of the outbreak in March, meaning its health-care system can start to return to a normal footing in May, according to Jens Spahn, the health minister, pictured.

“The outbreak is becoming more manageable every day. There are now more people who have recovered than those newly infected,” he said in Berlin.

Angela Merkel, the chancellor, identified the reproduction factor as a key measurement of when lockdown measures can be lifted.