Chancellor Angela Merkel announced further easing of the corona measures on Thursday. In Berlin, discussions are currently underway about closing the airport.
- On Thursday, April 30, discusses in Berlin Governing Mayor Michael Müller with Chancellor Angela Wish el on further actions in the corona crisis
- Müller speaks of a "first phase of easing" and gives hope that there will be no tightened exit restrictions
- In Berlin, as in almost all other federal states, the mask requirement applies since Monday, April 27th
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus * and the corona news from Germany *. You can also find current case numbers in Germany here as a map *. The following recommendations for corona protective measures * are currently available. The most important thing about the topic is also on our brand new Facebook page Corona News. Become a fan now.
Update from April 30, 9:16 p.m .: The operators of Berlin Tegel Airport are preparing to temporarily close the airport from June 1 in the Corona crisis . For this purpose, the aviation authority should apply for exemption from the operating obligation, announced airport manager Engelbert Lütke Daldrup after committee meetings.
Corona virus in Berlin: Chancellor Merkel announces slight easing
Update from April 30, 5:34 p.m .: After the deliberations of the federal and state governments, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has announced further opening steps. Playgrounds, cultural institutions and places of worship are likely to reopen, Merkel said on Thursday at a joint press conference with the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Hamburg's First Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) .
But the danger from the corona pandemic is far from over: "Therefore, caution remains the imperative."
It also became clear that the respective decisions continued
Update from April 30, 4:51 p.m .: As has now become known, the capital department store KaDeWe is allowed to open again on the entire area after a decision by the Berlin Administrative Court . For the time being, the ban on opening larger sales areas does not apply to "a large Berlin department store," said a court spokesman on Thursday. An administrative court ruled this in an urgent procedure. The KaDeWe then announced on Thursday again fully open starting next week .
Corona virus in Berlin: details from federal-state consultations penetrate
In the meantime, details from the consultations between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Ministers of the countries have also become public. According to this, the federal and state governments want to allow special religious celebrations such as baptisms, weddings or circumcisions, as well as funeral services in a small group, in addition to community services .
In addition, the hospitals are supposed to start more operations and other important treatments according to the will of the federal and state governments . According to information from the German Press Agency, 40 percent of the intensive care beds from participants are kept free. Now fewer intensive care beds are to be kept free in the future . The development of infections in the corona crisis as well as a precise overview through a new intensive care bed register made it possible to use a "somewhat larger part" of the capacities again for plannable operating theaters, it said among the participants.
In the deliberations , the federal and state governments were also able to agree on the opening of playgrounds that had already been included in the proposed resolution by the federal government . Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to inform about the results of the deliberations in a few minutes. An overview of all expected loosening can also be found at Merkur.de *.
Corona virus in Berlin: Temporary corona emergency clinic at the exhibition center completed
Update from April 30, 3:30 p.m .: A provisional Corona emergency hospital has been set up in Berlin within just four weeks . This is located on the fairgrounds of the capital, said Health Senator Dilek Kalayci on Thursday in the House. Initially, the hospital is to offer space for 500 beds , 100 of them with ventilators . If necessary, the capacity can be increased to up to 1000 beds.
The additional location is intended as a reserve hospital in the event that other clinics can no longer accept patients. By Wednesday evening, 5821 Corona cases had been registered in Berlin . According to information from the health administration, 604 patients are in hospitals, 157 are being treated in intensive care. Currently, however, 31 percent of the intensive care beds in Berlin hospitals are free.
Update of April 30, 1:49 pm: In the early Thursday afternoon, the first details of the federal government's draft resolution on further easing of the corona measures became known.
Coronavirus in Berlin: playgrounds and many facilities are to be opened
Accordingly, the federal government wants to reopen the playgrounds that have been closed for weeks. This also applies to museums, exhibitions, zoos, memorials and botanical gardens. Services and prayer events are also to be re-admitted. In principle, the federal government intends to uphold the ban on major events that has already been decided until August 31 . This emerges from the federal government's draft resolution for the deliberations of Merkel and the country heads.
However, the bill also speaks of the fact that the federal government will not decide until the next switching conference with the prime ministers on May 6 whether a further major opening step with the strict corona restrictions is actually possible. In the meantime, the federal government also wants to have a concept developed for the gradual opening of schools , daycare centers and the resumption of sports.
Update of April 30, 12:53 p.m .: In the event of major demonstrations , gatherings and possible riots on May 1, the Berlin police want to act harder this year than in previous years because of the corona crisis . The interior senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) announced on Thursday in the RBB information radio. The so-called policy of the outstretched hand and de-escalation by the police will “not work so easily this time”.
Corona virus in Berlin: Police want to crack down on May 1 more than in previous years
The interior senator emphasized: "The police will have to intervene at an early stage ." He also pointed out that participation in unauthorized demonstrations is currently a criminal offense. The police had approved just over 20 small rallies in one place with a maximum of 20 participants each. But Geisel warned that in recent weeks the so-called hygiene demonstrations had seen that "large crowds are gathering very quickly".
Around 5,000 police officers will be deployed to Berlin on May 1st . Left and right-wing radicals want to organize spontaneous protests instead of the usual large demonstrations on the evening of May 1st.
Meanwhile, Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) has again emphasized that after weeks of closure due to the corona pandemic *, the focus should now be increasingly on hotels, restaurants and tourism. However, there should be no “race for the fastest opening scenarios,” Müller told the German Press Agency on Thursday before a switching conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and other country heads.
Corona virus in Berlin: Müller wants a perspective for gastronomy and the hotel industry
But, for example, one has to “give the restaurant and hotel industry a perspective” , even if it is too early to name a specific period, said Müller. The mayor had already said the same the previous day. He considers "realistic standards and clear foundations" necessary so that restaurants or hotels can already prepare for the time after the lockdown *. Müller also emphasized the importance of domestic tourism for the hotel industry.
Update from April 30, 11:23 p.m .: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the state premiers have been advising on how to deal with the corona pandemic again this Thursday morning. In advance, the nationwide contact block was extended until May 10th .
Around 2 p.m., a draft resolution resulting from the current deliberations is expected. However, far-reaching opening decisions are not yet expected. Only on 6 May , when the possible effects of the easing that has already occurred will be foreseeable, will further openings, for example in the catering and tourism sectors , be decided .
Corona virus in Berlin: Masks have been mandatory since Monday - further changes in May
Update from April 29, 7:38 p.m .: Since Monday (April 27), the mask requirement applies in Berlin due to the corona virus. Since Wednesday (April 29th) all over Germany. The requirement for mouth and nose protection is not the only new regulation that the population is now expecting. There will be numerous changes in May. Berlin even gets an additional holiday .
Update from April 29, 1.30 p.m .: Berlin's Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) wants to hold talks about easing for hotels and restaurants in May . The hotel industry and gastronomy need "a perspective," he told RBB broadcaster 88.8 on Wednesday. It would not be about saying that it was possible to open the restaurant four days later, he emphasized. "But we have to tell them that they are not the last either, but that in any case, I hope in the course of May , we can arrange a sequence of steps between the federal government and the states, where perhaps the outside gastronomy opens up, that you can then go inside does something to gastronomy. "
Müller believes that not only the economy, but also people need this offer. The mayor's assessment, however, that large-scale events with tens of thousands of people are not realistic in the long run . "I hope that we will have a bigger event again at the end of the year, perhaps at the beginning of next year," said Müller. But nobody can really promise that.
Corona virus in Berlin: mask requirement now also in retail
Update of April 28, 2:33 p.m .: Berlin is now introducing the mandatory mask in retail. According to the daily mirror, the Senate decided on Tuesday. The mask requirement in retail is to apply on Wednesday. The Greens, however, are demanding an exception for children up to the age of six - both in shops and on buses and trains.
In the debate about further corona easing, Greens politician Boris Palmer * now shocked with the sentence: "We save people who would be dead in six months anyway." A shocking incident has meanwhile occurred in a hospital in Munich. There, a woman suffering from Covid 19 was declared dead to her relatives by phone - but a short time later the mourners received another call. There was a mix-up *.
Corona crisis in Berlin: dangerous outbreak in retirement home - facility completely cleared
Update April 28, 11:53: Because of several coronavirus infections is a senior - residence in Berlin on the night of Tuesday completely vacated been . According to the dpa , referring to a fire department spokesman, a total of 76 patients have been brought to various hospitals since Monday evening.
According to this, at least 18 people in the home suffered from Covid-19, three of whom were in critical condition. This is reported by Andreas Chickowsky, head of the nursing service, who provides outpatient care for the senior citizens' home in Lichtenberg-Fennpfuhl. According to a report by the RBB, at least 28 people are ill. According to Chickowsky, the numbers of the sick are still "very vague".
Corona crisis Berlin: conference call with the Chancellor is coming - will the measures be tightened?
First report from April 28th:Berlin - As in most federal states in Germany , a mask requirement has been in effect in Berlin since Monday, April 27 * . For people who are unable to get appropriate protective masks, there should be decentralized issuing offices in Berlin , the mayor Michael Müller (SPD) announced. In the federal capital, the obligation has so far only applied to local public transport, but uniform conditions in the fight against the corona virus * could soon also exist nationwide . This could mean that the mask requirement * and the exit restriction * could also be tightened in Berlin .
In the neighboring federal state of Brandenburg, the mask requirement is initially limited to the state capital Potsdam. Mayor Mike Schubert (SPD) justified the measure, saying that there is a higher corona dynamic than in other Brandenburg towns and municipalities in rural areas. With normally more than 60,000 commuters a day due to the proximity to Berlin , more extensive regulations than those of the state are required.
There is hope for all museum visitors. As the Senate announced, the museums on the famous Museum Island in Berlin can open again on May 4. The more than 170 state, city and private museums in Berlin have been closed since mid-March.
Loan traffic in libraries should then also be made possible again, explained cultural senator Klaus Lederer (left). The city's theaters will remain closed until July 31, ending the season early. With regard to the restrictions due to the corona crisis * after “noticeable, painful cuts”, Müller (SPD) spoke of a “first phase of relaxation”. But there is "no general all-clear" in a "very, very fragile situation". According to current figures (as of April 27), 5,638 people in Berlin were infected with the coronavirus * .
agf / dpa
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Michael Kappeler
