No supervision, no playground, no frolicking with friends: For weeks now, children have not been in daycare or school, but at home. Now there is a timetable.
- Due to Corona *, daycare centers are currently closed.
- The first federal states have allowed childminders and emergency care again.
- Now Markus Söder announces easing from Wednesday (May 6th)
Corona in Bavaria: daycare centers and playgrounds will open in Bavaria from Wednesday May 6th
Update May 5, 12.30 p.m .: As the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder is currently announcing in a press conference, the day care centers are to be opened piece by piece as of tomorrow (May 6). According to Söder, the goal is to have 50 percent of the children in the daycare centers again until Pentecost. The playgrounds will also open again on Wednesday (May 6th).
Original article from May 4th: Munich - How are the little ones going to continue in the Corona crisis ? North Rhine-Westphalia was the first federal state to threaten to go it alone when it opened its daycare. Lower Saxony followed suit on Monday: childminders may work there again. From May 18, emergency care will also be expanded in the north. And in Bavaria? So far, Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had seen daycare centers and elementary schools at the bottom of the list of easing measures. On Wednesday, he consults with his colleague and chancellor Angela Merkel. The voices that the federal and state governments should not lose sight of daycare centers are growing louder.
Melanie Keihl is one of those who fully understand the corona rules. The managing director of Neue KinderFan GmbH operates three day care centers in Munich. But she also clearly demands: "Now is the time to re-open crèches, kindergartens and primary schools." In the age group up to ten, it is still medically controversial how high the risk of infection is. "Nevertheless, the children in society are labeled as scapegoats and have to suffer especially from the situation."
Day-care center failure in corona crisis: "The nerves are now blank"
This can be confirmed by Tobias Albert, whose three children (3, 5 and 9 years old) have been at home for seven weeks now instead of in the crèche, pre-school or primary school. The burden on the 40-year-old and his wife is increasing. "Every day is different," he says. It shows that the behavior of the little ones is changing more and more. They are restless, do not want to go to bed for hours in the evening, just burst into tears. "Where words used to be enough" is already being fought over.
"The nerves are blank now." And that doesn't make it easier for parents either. Albert is self-employed in building cleaning. He is also someone who informs himself, who studies the corona numbers and asks questions. There are almost no answers for him at the moment. That is why he does not expect childcare to start operating again soon. Even if he expects exactly that from the talks of the politicians.
Coronavirus in Bavaria - After reopening one thing is absolutely necessary: many tests
When taking the first steps back to normality, one thing is particularly important for the education and science union in Bavaria : "The greatest possible protection for everyone involved," explains Managing Director Elke Hahn. In each day care center, the spatial conditions are different. It is therefore a thought to evaluate each facility individually - with the involvement of the staff councils. After reopening, one thing is absolutely necessary: many tests .
Ria Szengel, 33 with the twins Leo (right) and Ole (20 months old). She hopes to relax in daycare centers.
© Achim Frank Schmidt
Marina K. (36) is currently wondering what the contagion situation is like. However, the student hopes that she can bring her twins Lias and Luca back to daycare as soon as possible. "It's really stressful right now. The studies are currently running online, but it is still an immense burden to bring everything under one roof. ” Ria Scengel relies on relief for families in which both parents work. The engineer (33) also has twins who would actually be in the daycare. It is also for an opening - if the framework conditions fit.
Doctors are campaigning for the opening of daycare centers: Interview with an infectious disease specialist
An increasing number of pediatricians are also campaigning for daycare to be opened - provided that hygiene measures are followed and close checks and random corona tests are carried out. "If these conditions are met consistently, you can risk this step," says Professor Dr. Johannes Hübner.
The renowned chief infectiologist at the Hauners Children's Clinic is currently intensively researching the subject of corona in children. A large clinical study is already under his leadership, which is funded by the Care for Rare Foundation. The tz interview:
How big is the threat potential of the new corona virus for children - and for adults when schools and daycare centers are reopened?
Professor Dr. Johannes Hübner: Children are much less affected by corona than adults. They are less common and the disease is severe only in a few cases. Very often children show no symptoms at all. Only one to two percent of the patients who tested positive are children. Deaths are an absolute rarity. One child has died in Germany so far, and thankfully there are very few victims worldwide.
However, there are also children who need to be treated with Covid-19 in hospitals. Are current figures available for this?
Hübner: Yes, the German Society for Pediatric Infectiology maintains a registration register. According to this, 121 children are currently being treated in Germany, 14 of them in intensive care units. So far, we have had a few cases in our Hauners Children's Clinic, only one child needed intensive care. We are now testing every child who comes to our clinic for the new type of corona virus. Of about 200 children, three have been positive so far, in two cases the infection was previously known.
Politicians fear that children could pass the virus on to their parents and grandparents. Is this concern justified?
Hübner: We still don't know much about how contagious children really are. However, there are so-called family transmission studies, for example from China. It is traced back to who brought the virus into the family. Children were only in about ten percent of the cases. Mostly it was the adults who infected the children.
Interview: Andreas Beez
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network. Find out everything about the corona virus here: For example, about entry requirements, research, and our factual article.
