German new coronavirus cases almost tripled in 24 hours, as it considers an 'emergency brake' to reinstate harsher lockdowns

• Germany reported another 933 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, nearly three times as many as the day before.
• Officials say they need more data before they are certain of a trend, but the early figures seem to suggest a resurgence of coronavirus cases.
• The figures come 6 days after the country reopened shops and some schools on May 7.
• Regions may have to apply an 'emergency brake' and reapply lockdown measures if there are more than 50 cases per 100,000 people.
• As of Tuesday, there have been a total of 170,508 cases in the country and 7,533 deaths from the virus.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Germany almost tripled its new cases of coronavirus within 24 hours on Tuesday, around a week after Chancellor Angela Merkel further relaxed the country's strict lockdown.

The country's agency for disease control and prevention, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), reported 933 new cases — a huge leap compared to the 357 reported the day before.

The country's 'R' rate has also been above 1 for the last three days, according to the institute. An 'R' rate of 1 means that, on average, an infected person infects one other. Anything above 1 means that the outbreak is worsening.

Due to statistical uncertainties, the RKI said it is too early to know if cases are on the rise overall, according to CNN, but the figure is a worrying sign all the same.

It has been 6 days since the country's lockdown was significantly loosened, with the reopening of shops and schools. This furthered a process of easing restrictions that began on April 27.

Merkel has repeatedly warned that should the 'R' number go above 1, Germany's health system could be overwhelmed, according to Reuters.

On May 7, Merkel laid out criteria to apply an 'emergency brake' to tighten the lockdown. It can be applied in any region where new cases of the virus reach 50 per 100,000 people in 7 days.

Three districts — a relatively small part of Germany — have already used the brake, and more could follow. The specific modifications to the lockdown vary from place to place.

As of Tuesday, there have been a total of 170,508 cases and 7,533 deaths from the virus, according to the RKI. At the peak of the pandemic in Germany on March 27, the country reported 6,993 new cases in a single day, according to statistics website Worldometer.

Read the original article on Business Insider