Note: The list of coronavirus hotspots in Germany was updated on October 20.

As the number of coronavirus infections in Germany continues to rise, Angela Merkel and her cabinet have announced new, uniform restrictions that will focus on coronavirus hotspots or “high-risk” zones.

Germany’s coronavirus hotspots

In Germany, “high-risk” zones are defined as areas that register 50 or more new coronavirus infections per 100.000 residents in the space of seven days. Areas that have been designated “high-risk” are subject to a number of tough restrictions aimed at combatting the spread of the coronavirus, including a curfew and contact limitations.

Germany’s 47 “high-risk” zones, where the incidence rate exceeds 50, are listed below, organised by state. 

Baden-Württemberg

• Esslingen (county) - incidence rate 77,6
• Stuttgart (city district) - 69,7

Bavaria

• Berchtesgadener Land (district) - 72,7
• Fürstenfeldbruck (county) - 62,0
• Memmingen (city) - 52,2
• Munich (city) - 52,1
• Regen (county) - 84,0
• Rosenheim (city) - 67,7
• Rottal-Inn (district) - 57,6
• Schweinfurt (district) - 52,4

Berlin

• Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf - 57,9
• Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - 79,4
• Mitte - 112,5
• Neukölln - 161,6
• Reinickendorf - 73,9
• Spandau - 67,4
• Steglitz-Zehlendorf - 51,0
• Tempelhof-Schöneberg - 93,9

Bremen

• Bremen (city) - 79,3

Hesse

• Frankfurt am Main (city) - 71,0
• Groß-Gerau (district) - 61,7
• Main-Taunus-Kreis (district) - 53,7
• Offenbach (city) - 84,4

Lower Saxony

• Cloppenburg - 99,0
• Delmenhorst (city) - 96,7
• Emsland (district) - 51,7
• Oldenburg (county) - 50,4
• Vechta (county) - 58,8

North Rhine-Westphalia

• Duisburg (city) - 55,5
• Düsseldorf (city) - 55,6
• Essen (city) - 51,1
• Hagen (city) - 56,3
• Hamm (city) - 58,4
• Herne (city) - 95,2
• Cologne (city) - 70,4
• Leverkusen (city) - 67,8
• Mettmann (district) - 54,4
• Olpe (district) - 53,7
• Solingen (city) - 71,0
• Recklinghausen (district) - 70,7
• Unna (district) - 54,4
• Wuppertal (city) - 63,4

Rhineland-Palatinate

• Eifel district Bitburg-Prüm - 115,1
• Mainz (capital city) - 56,7

Saarland

• St. Wendel (county) - 97,7

Saxony

• Erzgebirgskreis - 52,2

Thuringia

• Eichsfeld (county) - 54,0

Lowering the critical incidence rate

To try to curb the rapidly growing infection rate, the government has partially lowered the critical limit for the incidence rate in Germany. This means that some restrictions - including an expansion of the mask requirement - will be imposed on areas that have an incidence rate of 35 new infections per 100.000 inhabitants over 7 days. 

Currently, there are 51 areas that exceed the new incidence rate of 35 but are below the “high-risk” threshold of 50:

Baden-Württemberg

• Baden-Baden (city district) - 47,1
• Heilbronn (city district) - 47,4
• Ludwigsburg (district) - 45,1
• Mannheim (city district) - 48,3
• Pforzheim (city district) - 38,1
• Reutlingen (district) - 36,6
• Schwäbisch Hall (district) - 42,2
• Tübingen (district) - 47,7
• Tuttlingen (district) - 45,5

Bavaria

• Augsburg (city) - 45,9
• Ebersberg (district) - 48,0
• Ingolstadt (city) - 39,3
• Munich (district) - 37,9
• Nuremberg (city) - 40,3
• Regensburg (city) - 35,9
• Rosenheim (district) - 42,1
• Schweinfurth (district) - 48,5
• Tirschenreuth (district) - 37,5
• Unterallgäu (district) - 38,5
• Weiden in the Upper Palatinate (city) - 39,8
• District Pankow - 45,5

Brandenburg

• Oder-Spree district - 43,1

Hesse

• Darmstadt (city) - 42,5
• Hochtaunuskreis (district) - 39,3
• Kassel (city) - 37,1
• Marburg-Biedenkopf (district) - 46,1
• Offenbach (district) - 43,0
• Werra-Meißner-Kreis (district) - 35,8
• Wiesbaden (city) - 43,1

Lower Saxony

• Grafschaft Bentheim (district) - 49,6
• Leer (district) - 39,8
• Osnabrück (district) - 42,2
• Wesermarsch (district) - 47,4

North Rhine-Westphalia

• Bochum (city) - 47,6
• Bonn (city) - 38,5
• Dortmund (city) - 42,8
• Gelsenkirchen (city) - 48,1
• Gütersloh (district) - 36,2
• Mülheim an der Ruhr (city) - 44,5
• Remscheid (city) - 46,7
• Rhein-Erft-Kreis - 49,3
• Rhein-Sieg-Kreis - 41,9
• Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis - 38,1
• City region Aachen Kreis - 47,7
• Warendorf (district) - 37,4

Rhineland-Palatinate

• Bad Dürkheim (district) - 35,4
• Kaiserslautern (district) - 37,7
• Mainz-Bingen (district) - 40,7
• Neuwied (district) - 49,8

Saarland

• Merzig-Wadern (district) - 46,5
• Neunkirchen (district) - 45,7

Other regions in Germany

Other regions not included on this list are not subject to any new restrictions, but everyone is still advised to follow the so-called "AHA Formula": keep your distance, wash your hands, and wear a mask.