Merkel and the country heads have agreed: from 50 new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants, action must be taken. A corona mass test has now started in Sonneberg.
- On Wednesday, the country heads discussed with Chancellor Angela Merkel about further easing measures * in the Corona * crisis.
- The prime ministers agreed on key points with the federal government.
- Here is our Corona Virus Reporting Guide * and our “Corona News” * on Facebook. The current Corona case numbers for Germany can be found here as a map *.
Update from May 12, 12:15 p.m .: In addition to the district of Greiz , the city of Sonneberg in Thuringia is above the limit of 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants decided by the federal and state governments in one week in terms of new corona infections . A corona mass test has now started in the city of just under 24,000 .
A team should cut back a total of around 600 employees from the health campus, said district spokesman Michael Volk on Tuesday. The campus is the focus of the current outbreak in the city. The campaign started the day before with 180 employees at the local hospital. The results are therefore expected in about two days.
Corona crisis: infection rate in Sonneberg with 70 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week
The infection rate in Sonneberg was recently over 70 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week. On Tuesday, the crisis team should now advise on restriction concepts. First, the members want to wait for recommendations from the Ministry of Health. Volk emphasized that it was necessary to discuss exactly which measure made sense and was appropriate to contain the Corona outbreak. The aim is to interrupt the chains of infection and de-escalate the situation. In the immediate vicinity of the health campus there is also a dialysis center , two retirement homes and medical practices.
Update from May 11, 2:15 p.m .: Because of the many Sars CoV-2 infections among employees of a slaughterhouse in Coesfeld , North Rhine-Westphalia * was the first federal state to put the "emergency brake" into force - now the corona requirements in the district initially not relaxed.
NRW's Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) has now called for stricter health and safety laws for the industry. Working across the board with subcontractors has been an “eyesore” for years. The politician rejected the accusation of lack of control.
Corona crisis: Rosenheim falls below the "emergency brake" limit for infections
Update from May 11, 11:25 am : Rosenheim again scratched the new disease mark of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days. With a value of 49 , the city fell just short of the mark on Monday, as can be seen from RKI figures.
Update from May 11, 7:06 a.m .: The district of Greiz has largely become one of the corona hotspots in Germany in the past few weeks . Only since Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the upper limit for new corona infections - 50 per 100,000 inhabitants within a district or an independent city in the past seven days - as well as the associated emergency mechanism, which immediately implemented strict restrictions for the affected region, has the Thuringian made County headlines.
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Corona upper limit significantly exceeded in Greiz - but district administrator refuses to lockdown
With a value of 75.4 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants , the district is not only slightly, but significantly above the upper limit, according to a report by Focus.de . But district administrator Martina Schweinsburg (CDU) refuses to send her residents back into the lockdown . In an interview with the world , she explains why, in her opinion, it makes no sense . "Our district will not go into quarantine," emphasizes Schweinsburg. A mass test had shown where the focal points of infection would be: in the southern part of the district with the centers Greiz and Zeulenroda-Triebes.
Therefore, restrictions should only apply locally to part of the district. Above all, inpatient care facilities are affected by the infections. The ban on visits would therefore be maintained there. With the exception of these facilities, the district has “a normal infection pattern”, like other counties, emphasizes Schweinsburg.
In Greiz, testing is now to continue on a wide scale - 1,700 Covid 19 tests per week are planned. The district administrator further explains that the guidelines of the Robert Koch Institute would continue to apply. “As I said, there is no point in quarantining the entire Greiz district while everything is opening up in the neighborhood. Then the citizens go to the neighboring municipalities for shopping or to the outdoor pools, ”says Schweinsburg.
Corona upper limit exceeded again in Bavarian hotspot Rosenheim
Update from May 10, 5:30 pm: The next case for the corona "emergency brake" from the federal and state governments is here: In the Upper Bavarian city of Rosenheim , the mark of 50 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants was exceeded within a week. The value was 50.5 on Sunday, said the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) on Sunday in Erlangen.
Rosenheim had already broken the limit on May 7. The current increase in the number of cases can be explained by a series test in an asylum seeker's accommodation, said the state office.
This means that five locations in Germany are now known in which the agreed upper limit is exceeded: in addition to the city of Rosenheim, the counties of Greiz and Sonneburg in Thuringia, Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia and Steinburg in Schleswig-Holstein .
Giant chaos around Corona emergency brakes: the next district is above critical value
1:48 p.m .: In the district of Sonneberg in southern Thuringia, more than 50 new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants have been registered in the past seven days . As of Sunday morning (10:00 a.m.), the value was 66.7 new infections, as the spokesman for the district office, Michael Volk, announced at the request of the German Press Agency. A total of 155 infections had been detected in the district by then.
The value of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week is the upper limit, which, if exceeded, will in future be subject to strict restrictions to contain the pandemic in the region concerned.
Volk said about the situation in the district of Sonneberg: " We will continue to monitor and examine the situation very critically and, if necessary, will take harder measures as part of the new regulation."
A focus of infection is a hospital in Sonneberg. Employees were also infected. In coordination with the clinic, a temporary admission stop was therefore decided there on Friday evening. But Volk also emphasized that there are new infections outside the hospital.
With 74.4 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, the district of Greiz was the first region in Germany in which the officially critical value was exceeded. In addition, the upper limit was also broken in Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia and in the Steinburg district in Schleswig-Holstein.
Corona upper limit chaos: Coesfeld is still significantly higher
Update from May 10, 11:51 a.m .: In Coesfeld, the number of new infections after the corona outbreak in a meat factory is still significantly above the agreed upper limit. According to the RKI, the figure on Sunday was 85 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week. According to the RKI on Saturday, this average had been 76 (as of May 9, 00:00). However, the RKI points out that, among other things, a delay in data transmission can lead to discrepancies between its information and the actual local numbers.
In addition to the Coesfeld district, all other districts and independent cities in North Rhine-Westphalia were significantly below the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days.
As a consequence, the Coesfeld district, in coordination with the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, has already postponed a large part of the loosening of the corona requirements that was actually planned nationwide from Monday. By Saturday evening, 930 of 1200 employees of the affected meat company had been tested. The number of positive corona cases found rose to more than 190.
Update from May 9th, 8:27 am : In the district of Coesfeld (NRW) only the first emergency brake was apparently pulled. According to dpa information, NRW Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) closed the severely affected slaughterhouse with 129 infected employees. Further easing, which was planned for this week, was postponed to May 18 - including the opening of amusement parks, restaurants and shops of more than 800 square meters . The contact restrictions could not be relaxed either.
In Schleswig-Holstein, where a slaughterhouse is also affected in the Segeberg district , the Ministry of Health announced on Friday evening that the employees of all slaughterhouses in the state would be tested for the corona virus.
Corona outbreak in the district of Steinburg: closed access to the affected slaughterhouse
© dpa / Carsten Rehder
Since foreign slaughterhouses are often employed in many slaughterhouses and the hygiene concepts do not seem to be sufficient, several diplomatic representations of the workers' countries of origin had apparently shown concern.
The German district council advocates that "in the case of clearly isolable foci of infection such as old people's homes or individual schools" not "to order measures for the general public or to take existing loosening back broadly". This is clearly not appropriate, said President Reinhard Sager on Friday of the dpa.
Corona emergency brake: reactions to exceeding the numbers are irritating
Update 2.35 p.m .: In at least three counties , the upper limit for new corona infections set by the Federal Government and the Prime Ministers has already been exceeded . But the reactions to the specific cases are irritating: on the one hand, doctors consider the limit set too high (see update from 1:00 p.m.) - on the other hand, local politicians are rowing , but in one case Chancellor General Helge Braun (CDU) is already looking back at possible lockdowns. The state policy also does not appear to be prepared.
In the Thuringian district of Greiz, for example, District Administrator Martina Schweinsburg (CDU) even wants to start easing restrictions in the coming week. "On the one hand, it is important to prevent the virus from spreading further, on the other hand, we cannot put any further blockages on our economy or our gastronomy," said Schweinsburg on Thursday. It makes "little sense to ban everything that is necessary a few kilometers away".
Think of loosening in spite of the "emergency brake": Greiz district administrator Martina Schweinsburg
© dpa / Martin Schutt
Braun had also appeased the Greiz case. "There is no automatic mechanism for broad contact restrictions," he emphasized in the ZDF talk "Maybrit Illner". Because the outbreak in Greiz is "very delimited", especially in nursing homes, he can well imagine a restriction concept that does not require broad, general restrictions .
Corona emergency brake: No concrete plans for another lockdown
It was also announced on Friday that the Steinburg district in Schleswig-Holstein had also exceeded the upper limit - partly due to an outbreak in a slaughterhouse in the neighboring district of Segeberg. A spokeswoman for the district knew nothing of planned measures, as the dpa reported. There is simply no ordinance from the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Health.
Even in the third current hotspot, in the Coesfeld district , there are apparently no concrete plans in the direction of lockdown. The circle said on Friday morning that the situation was continuously assessed and advice on measures taken.
Officially, however, the Chancellery is firmly committed to the regulation. With 50 new infections per hundred thousand inhabitants "the fire brigade has to come, because then the roof structure will be on fire", explained Braun. Otherwise there is a risk of waking up “with 100 or 200 infections” and “with overwhelmed hospitals”.
Corona emergency brake: District in Schleswig-Holstein is also waiting for regulations
Update 2:12 pm: In Schleswig-Holstein, too, a district has now exceeded the upper limit of new corona infections set by the federal and state governments. With 87 confirmed current cases, the district of Steinburg on Friday was above the maximum number of 50 newly infected per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the authorities, the limit for the district with 131,000 inhabitants is 66 new infections. There have been a total of 164 confirmed Covid-19 cases there. Three people died. 74 are healthy again.
A spokeswoman for the district said that no information could yet be given on the necessary measures. There is still no corresponding ordinance from the state health ministry.
"Veiled": Experts warn of Merkel's emergency brake - two counties are in danger of an emergency
Update of May 8, 1:00 p.m .: Some experts classify it as too lax (see Update of May 7, 11:09 a.m.) - nevertheless, the "emergency brake" decided by the Federal Government around Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the Prime Minister could for corona loosening soon.
The Coesfeld district, which is particularly affected by the coronavirus, is the first in North Rhine-Westphalia to face new restrictions in the pandemic. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week has been exceeded. It was 52.7 on Friday (as of midnight).
In the Thuringian district of Greiz , too, 75.4 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants were detected within 7 days by Friday (as of midnight), as an overview by the RKI shows. This is a slight decrease from the previous day (80.5), but still significantly above the planned upper limit of 50.
“Emergency braking” debate: Doctors at the health authorities criticize the border - Braun thinks of a special solution for Greiz
In the district, the crisis team wants to decide on further measures to contain the pandemic on Monday. According to the district office from Friday, the focus is still on nursing homes. Now, the easing planned throughout Thuringia when visiting old people's homes and nursing homes for the East Thuringian district could fail. Chancellor-in-chief Helge Braun (CDU) hinted in a TV talk that since the outbreak in Greiz was "very delimited", he could imagine a concept that could do without broad, general restrictions.
Slow steps into the new normal: Chancellor Angela Merkel and the RKI case number card (right).
© Michael Kappeler / dpa
The Federal Association of Doctors of the Public Health Service (BVÖGD) has meanwhile also criticized the upper limit of infections agreed in the relaxation plans of the federal and state governments as far too high. "How the health authorities should deal with it is a mystery to me. That is not possible, ”said the chairwoman of the association Ute Teichert to the editorial network Germany. "The health authorities will be on their knees without permanent staff support." Teichert continued: "The number 50 is an unknown number to me. We have no idea where it comes from. "
Merkel's “emergency brake” in criticism: beer and family festival as corona herd in Rosenheim and Greiz?
Update 2:01 p.m .: In addition to Rosenheim in Bavaria, the 98,000-inhabitant district of Greiz in southeastern Thuringia is a corona stronghold. With 85 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within the past seven days, Greiz not only leads a sad Germany-wide infection record. The district thus serves the factor 50, which Angela Merkel's emergency brake regulation provides, in order to cause a lockdown.
But where do the high infection numbers come from in Greiz? In Rosenheim, the high number of people infected was due to a strong beer festival. And in Greiz were loud Bild.de larger festivals in the spread of coronavirus responsible. However, these were only two family celebrations - at least with more than 500 guests each.
The celebrations apparently took place in late February and early March. Several participants must have been infected. For the first time on March 13, the infection chain could be traced back to a party guest and the spread has probably not yet stopped. More than 500 people were infected in the district.
Unjust and manipulable? Expert tears up Merkel's emergency brake using the example of Munich
Update from May 7th, 11.09am: The crisis management in the coronavirus pandemic has been the main responsibility of the federal states since Wednesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel was able to implement a so-called emergency brake in her consultation with the Prime Minister. If more than 50 new infections are reported in a district within seven days, a lockdown must follow. Ulrich Mansmann, director of the Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology (IBE) at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, explains this brand is questionable and unjustFocus.de .
"For the city of Munich, for example, this means more than doubling the current infection rate, which for the past week was 21.5 infections per 100,000 inhabitants," said Mansmann. If this limit is reached in the metropolis , it is questionable whether rapid spread can be stopped at all.
In populous urban areas, the spread of the virus according to the “emergency braking” factor may go largely unnoticed. In a city of over a million people , measures are only taken when there are 500 cases. Smaller districts are disadvantaged at the same time, Mansmann believes . With around 100,000 inhabitants, the lockdown already follows with 50 infected people. “Such a border should be staggered regionally. Because in a smaller district, it can be reached quickly if there is an outbreak, ”said the expert.
Merkel's emergency brake can also be manipulated. In order to make the number of infections beautiful, the tests could simply be reduced. “Such a fixed upper limit number could be manipulated. But against that a clear and comprehensible documentation of the tests helps, ”Mansmann warns.
Criticism is now also voiced because of the still closed borders. The Münchner Merkur comments: The federal government should take care of a "European border policy worthy" now *. Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) insists on higher taxes for the rich because of the Corona crisis.
Merkel's red line for new corona infections: Two counties should remain in the lockdown
Original article from May 6, 2020:
Munich - It is one of the central cornerstones of the Federal Government's concept of easing the situation in the Corona crisis: The federal states must ensure that a consistent restriction concept immediately reappears within the last seven days in counties or independent cities with more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants must be implemented.
Specifically, this means: If the number is over 50, then the district or city must take lockdown measures again. Merkel agreed on this with the country heads on Wednesday in a switching conference.
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Corona upper limit: Fierce discussion about new infections
There had been fierce discussions about this point in the link between the country heads and Merkel because the city states of Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen in particular did not want to accept this upper limit.
In the end , Chancellor Merkel prevailed with her proposal . The Chancellor is campaigning for cautious easing, because some virologists fear severe setbacks if they are too open.
It urges quick countermeasures in the event of possible regional corona outbreaks. For this, an “emergency mechanism” agreed with the federal states is important, she said on Wednesday in Berlin after consulting with the prime minister. "When regional herds of infection reappear, you have to be able to immediately use special measures again."
Corona new infections: Rosenheim and Greiz are above the upper limit
Although the number of new infections has dropped sharply in Germany, two regions are currently above the hard limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants. On the one hand, it is the independent city of Rosenheim . According to the Robert Koch Institute, there were an average of 52.1 new cases extrapolated to 100,000 inhabitants. The city itself currently has just over 63,000 inhabitants.
According to Söder, the “emergency brake” is an emergency policy that shows everyone when to start again. This is the "central element" of all planning.
It will probably also meet the Greiz district in Thuringia . The number of new infections there is 84.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is even higher than in Rosenheim. The district is at the top of Germany's RKI statistics.
Some counties are close: The Zollernalb district and the district of Heidenheim (both in Baden-Württemberg) have had an average of 47.6 and 49.8 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days.
Corona restrictions only possible for individual furnishings
How the authorities will react in Rosenheim and in the district of Greiz is not yet clear. In the case of a clearly defined infection event, for example in a facility, a restriction concept could only include the facility , according to the agreement between the country heads and the federal government.
In the event of a more widespread regional outbreak and unclear infection chains, general restrictions that have now been lifted would also have to be reintroduced regionally. Such measures should apply until the target value of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants is at least seven days below .
By the way: after the federal-state consultations on Wednesday, details of the course of the conference became known. Chancellor Angela Merkel and a prime minister are said to have had a particularly great need for discussion.
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* Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network.
mb / dpa
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Bodo Schackow
