As of Tuesday night, the officially confirmed number of Corona infections in Berlin lies at 6503.
- There are currently 6611 confirmed cases in Berlin.
- So far, 6018 people have been declared recovered from Covid-19, meaning the number of active infections in the city lies at 593.
- Of those infected, 3257 are male, 3350 are female. Four did not specify their gender.
- 167 people are currently in hospital as a result of the virus, 59 are in intensive care.
- The total number of casualties lies at 190, 14 of whom were under 60 years of age. The average age of the deceased was 81.
Lockdown set to ease again, Corona hits refugee home, big-tech boost for tracing app
The Senat is set to announce a further easing of coronavirus measures from next Thursday, Interior Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) said this week. Under the plans, open-air cinemas, gyms and yoga studios will be allowed to open from the beginning of June – assuming the infection rate does not jump again. As other German regions push ahead by easing their restrictions more quickly, Geisel appealed to Berliners’ patience. "We live in a metropolis of millions, and so the risk of infection here is greater than in the surrounding areas. We are making decisions for Berlin," he said. The Senat has already done away with its 14-day quarantine requirement for those arriving into the city from abroad.
Sixteen people living in refugee accommodation have tested positive for Covid-19. 82 of the 407 residents at the refugee centre in Buch are currently in quarantine, a spokesperson for the Senat’s Administration for Integration told the DPA. That includes family members of those infected and people with whom the infected individuals had contact with. 39 residents who could not be isolated at the home moved to special quarantine accommodation in Pankow. None of those infected have needed hospital treatment.
Germany’s Corona tracing app is now a step closer after Apple and Google released necessary new software to allow the local sharing of contact data between smartphones. Following an unprecedented collaboration, on Thursday the two tech giants made the software available to the world’s health authorities including those here in Germany, where the technology is being used for the Corona-Warn-App due to be released in mid June. The app will use your phone’s Bluetooth to anonymously talk to nearby devices so you can know if you have been near someone who tests positive for the virus. This decentralised approach should encourage even the most privacy-keen of Germans to download it.
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Herrentag boozers stay home, clubs consider ticketing system
The Ascension Day bank holiday was uneventful, with the police tending to only minor incidents. For many the holiday means Herrentag, and a free pass for blokes to have long, loutish public drinking sessions. That has failed to materialise this year, though there were some reports of unrest by the Müggelsee lake, where crowds at the Rübezahl restaurant were encouraged to dissipate by police loudspeakers. The shore area was closed off as a precaution. Police also reported crowds gathering near Treptower Park S-Bahn station and at Tempelhofer Feld (as might be expected), though there were as many families out and about as groups of drunk men.
Berlin’s clubs are considering making online registration mandatory for all guests as a way to reopen their dancefloors to partygoers. Lutz Leichsenring from the Club Commission has suggested that clubbers be issued with an online ticket in advance – even for free events – so that attendance can be recorded in the case of a coronavirus outbreak. Alternatively guests could check themselves in on arrival using a QR code so their data can be sent directly to public health authorities. "Whatever the answer, creativity is called for," Leichsenring told RBB. Some clubs such as Sisyphos and Rummels Bucht, which both have outdoor areas, have already reopened as beer gardens, with guests served drinks and pizza directly to their tables. How and when their dancefloors can be brought back to life remains unclear, though the consensus is that clubs will be the last places to be given the green light.
Kitas to welcome more kids next week
More relief for parents: from Monday Kitas will allow five-year-olds to return to nursery. Siblings will be allowed to join them too, though parents are being told to expect significantly reduced childcare times. Plans by the Senat’s Department for Education, Youth and Family to gradually reopen childcare facilities have faced strong criticism from Kita operators, who say they cannot accommodate the additional children while still complying with additional Corona safety regulations. Nonetheless, on June 8 the Senat is expected to allow the return of four-year-olds to Berlin’s nurseries, though for most that will mean only half a day of childcare. "Room and staff capacity is limited due to the Corona measures. I would therefore ask all parents for their understanding that their full childcare entitlement cannot be provided for," said Education Senator Sandra Scheeres (SPD). Hang in there, folks.
Traffic jams at Polish border, Corona hits infrastructure projects, drivers ignore new cycle lanes
Bank holiday travel chaos at the Polish border has been reported, with 55km-long traffic jams on the Autobahn due to heightened checks by Polish authorities and the weight of traffic from people returning home for the long weekend. "The A12 is completely full", a police spokesman said on Thursday. Drivers heading across the border are being told to expect journey times of two to three hours longer than normal. Return journeys are set to be slow too, with the ADAC warning of busy roads on Sunday afternoon as people return to Berlin from trips away.
Covid-19 has led to the halting of numerous construction projects across the city. According to the Berliner Zeitung, of 93 major construction projects managed at a federal level, 41 have been delayed or cancelled because of the pandemic. The setbacks have affected prestige projects including the Humboldt Forum museum complex and the Pergamon Museum. Staff shortages and delays in the supply chain for building materials are to blame, according to the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR). The September opening date for the long-delayed Humboldt Forum has already been put back until at least the end of the year, in a development that will cement Berlin’s reputation for incompetence in infrastructure.
The new pop-up cycle path on Charlottenburg’s Kantstrasse is proving less than successful. The problem? The new lane, which is marked with yellow lines and bicycle symbols, is constantly being blocked by parked cars, according to the Tagesspiegel. While that will be a familiar story to anyone who has cycled in Berlin, in this case motorists aren’t totally to blame. The numerous parking signs still visible on the Kantstrasse boulevard have been giving drivers mixed messages. Maybe time for a rethink?