As of Thursday night, the officially confirmed number of Corona infections in Berlin lies at 4357.
- There are 4357 confirmed cases in Berlin, which is up by 145 from yesterday.
- Of those infected, 2190 are male, 2160 are female. Seven did not specify their gender.
- 559 people are currently in hospital as a result of the virus, 136 (10 more than yesterday) are in intensive care.
- Five more people have died from the coronavirus, bringing the total number of casualties to 42.
- The average age of those deceased was 81 years, five were less than 60 years old.
How much more long?
Wouldn’t it be nice, while spending the Easter holidays at home, to at least have some idea when the lockdown measures can be taken back? Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn is considering the first easing of restrictions come April 20 as the infection rate seems to slow, but warned that the rules had to be closely followed over Easter. Mayor Müller, too reminded Berliners that “we are still in an exceptional crisis situation (…) there still is a big health risk for each and every one."
And Berlin’s distancing measures work, says the city’s most vocal public health officer, Reinickendorf’s Patrick Larscheid. He’s looked into the Robert Koch Institute's records of contagious respiratory diseases and found that the overall number of infections has plummeted like never before since the restrictions were put in place. He told the Tagesspiegel there was hope this trend would be consolidated within the next few days.
Latest Senat decisions
In the final session before everyone locks themselves up at home for isolated Easter fun, the Senat signed off on another €105 million financial aid budget. €30 million is supposed to go to independent cultural businesses such as clubs and stage, especially those with 10+ employees and an annual turnover of up to €10 million. The other €75 million will go to medium-sized companies with 11 to 100 employees. Individual businesses will get an average of €25.000, Senator of Commerce Ramona Pop (Greens) said.
So far, freelancers, solo entrepreneurs and small companies have been handed a total of €1.3 billion in financial aid. Now the State Office of Criminal Investigation (Landeskriminalamt, LKA) has started investigating businesses for cases of fraud. The penalty for submitting wrong information in the application form can be financial or a prison sentence of up to five years.
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Back to the Senat: Another one of today’s decisions made it easier to get Wohngeld (housing benefits). Especially in cases of people losing part of their income due to the Corona crisis, the usual plausibility checks will be skipped to make help available more quickly. The Senat Office for Housing also recommends the districts automatically renew existing Wohngeld grants for another six months.
And it’s official: Anyone coming back to Berlin from abroad - whether by plane, car or train - must go into quarantine for two full weeks. There are exceptions for diplomats and some professionals such as builders and care personnel as long as they don’t show symptoms (like, what?). The fine for violations of the rule is €2500 (or €10,000 for noncompliant businesses).
Existential crises
More and more Kurzarbeit: 30.000 Berlin companies have applied for the government’s short-time work programme, meaning hours are cut and the state pays 60 percent of the reduced net wages. The number of local businesses having to make use of the option has gone up by 7400 since the end of March. Nationwide, the increase has clocked in at 40 percent, the employment agency reported.
Surprisingly, even online retailer Zalando is feeling the Corona pinch as quarantined customers seem less keen on sprucing up their wardrobes. Sales have gone down so much that Zalando have announced they will be cutting €350 million from expenses, mainly from their marketing, logistics and investment budgets. The aim is to get through the crisis without layoffs.
Leftie group Friedel 54 im Exil was planning a solidarity demo for Neukölln kiez bar Syndikat, but did not obtain the necessary permission. The Kneipe is facing eviction after their new landlord terminated their contract. Now the group are accusing the police of using the Corona threat to prevent any kind of protest. They argue their demo was supposed to be limited to 20 people wearing masks and gloves and keeping strict distance from each other. The police said there’d be a risk of people joining in and the whole thing getting out of hand because - ironically - Syndikat is so popular!
Berlin snapshots
No bathing in Wannsee: The traditional Good Friday opening of the Wannsee beach is postponed. Technically the lido counts as a public swimming pool and as such falls under the anti-Corona restrictions, operator Berliner Bäderbetriebe explained to the Tagesspiegel. For them, it’s going to present a real financial problem and pool supervisors will definitely have to go on Kurzarbeit. For the greater public though… who would have wanted to jump in a nine-degree-cold lake?
Over-zealous reporting: The police have told the Morgenpost they were receiving a great number of messages from individuals pointing out alleged violations of lockdown measures, including open restaurants and groups of people in public parks. Hints were being given over the phone as well as on social media. But police told the paper it was all a bit over the top: “Many reports don’t actually lead to a police operation.”
Abi trouble: Education Senator Sandra Scheeres has asked student representatives to get on board with her decision not to cancel this year’s Abitur. In a letter cited by the DPA, she explains skipping the exams would lead to the Berlin Abi not being recognised by the other German states, which are all going ahead with examinations. She promised high hygiene and distancing standards and individual solutions for students belonging to high-risk groups.
Mauerpark trespassing: As the Morgenpost reports, several families have ‘inaugurated’ the not yet finished new part of Mauerpark where the grass is yet to grow. According to the report, the Senat’s Environment Office voiced some understanding for families trying to adhere to social distancing rules, but park operators Grün Berlin said they could not open the area yet and would now close it off more securely.
