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Daycare centers (almost) without children: In Baden-Württemberg, it remains only once with emergency care (symbol picture)
Photo:
Uwe Anspach / dpa
Originally, Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and Education Minister Susanne Eisenmann (CDU) wanted to announce this Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. that daycare centers and elementary schools in their federal state should gradually be reopened in the coming week.
In view of the falling number of infections in the country, the decision was considered a formality.
Now the state government has postponed it - because the infection process in the southwest has taken a special turn.
There are eight new cases of virus mutations in the southwest, including two children in a kindergarten in Freiburg, said government spokesman Rudi Hoogvliet.
21 people in the kindergarten are also infected, it must now be clarified whether it is also the new virus variants.
"Let's wait and see," said the announcer.
The results of the infections with the new virus variants came at 2 p.m.
Kretschmann had already emphasized on Tuesday that if the new, probably more aggressive virus variants from Great Britain or South Africa spread in the southwest, there would be a new situation.
"That can lead to drastic measures." Then any easing would have to be reversed.
“We're not over the mountain yet.
We are in the most difficult phase of the pandemic. "
The variants initially detected in Great Britain (B.1.1.7) and South Africa (B.1.351) are considered highly contagious.
According to the Baden-Württemberg State Health Office, both virus variants have been isolated in several districts in the south-west since the end of December.
The federal government warns that people in Germany will have to prepare for the increased spread of particularly contagious variants of the corona virus.
"Ländle" wanted to take a special route
With the gradual opening of daycare centers and schools in the middle of the nationwide, general corona shutdown, Baden-Württemberg, which sets a strict course in many areas of life, would have taken a special path.
According to the latest resolutions by the federal and state governments, daycare centers and schools nationwide are to be "generally closed" until mid-February.
However, some federal states had interpreted this announcement more freely than others, including Minister of Education Eisenmann.
The CDU politician repeatedly advocated relaxation and urged daycare centers and schools to open as soon as possible.
She found Chancellor Angela Merkel's (CDU) course in the pandemic very good, but had "a different opinion on whether all schools should be closed across the board," Eisenmann told the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit".
It must be prevented that the young generation has to pay for the school closings.
Eisenmann had already spoken in December of wanting to reopen primary schools and daycare centers in January "regardless of the incidence situation".
In “Die Zeit” she also called for educational professionals to move up in the list of people to be vaccinated with priority.
"For me, there are some indications that teachers will be vaccinated faster than the current plans," she said.
This applies equally to educators.
In Baden-Württemberg, a new state parliament will be elected on March 14, just like in neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate.
Eisenmann competes as the top CDU candidate against Kretschmann.
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Fok / AFP / dpa