As of Tuesday night, the officially confirmed number of Corona infections in Berlin lies at 2777.
- There are 2,993 confirmed cases in Berlin, a small rise from 2,777 confirmed cases yesterday.
- 1568 people are male, 1415 are female. 10 did not specify their gender.
- 479 people are currently in hospital as a result of the virus. 104 are in intensive care.
- 7 people have died from the Coronavirus.
Contact ban extended, mask debate continues
Surprise, surprise, Germany’s federal and state governments have decided to extend the nation-wide contact ban until the end of the Easter holidays on April 19. In an audio press conference, Chancellor Merkel maintained that social contact beyond the own household would have to remain extremely limited. “Stay strong,” she urged the general public. The agreement specifies that no trips or visits to family should be taken, including during the traditional family holiday of Easter. As Merkel put it: “A pandemic knows no holidays.”
With another warm and sunny weekend ahead, the Berlin branch of police union (GdP) have called for parks and green zones in Berlin to close temporarily. Last week’s situation at Kottbusser Tor, Boxhagener Platz and Tempelhofer Feld had shown it was not possible to enforce the public distancing measures. Without indicating a time frame, Berlin union head Norbert Cioma said there was “almost no alternative” to the unpopular measure.
Federal Health Secretary Jens Spahn (CDU) has rejected calls to make the wearing of masks compulsory for the public. His statement comes after Jena, located around 250km south-west of Berlin, became the first German city to require residents wear masks when shopping or travelling on public transport. As we reported yesterday, politicians from the AfD, FDP and SPD have demanded the same measure for Berlin. "In the current situation I see no need for an obligation," Spahn said in Düsseldorf. "But I feel a great willingness to show solidarity in order to protect others. And that is a good sign."
Safety over democracy?
City parliament is debating how to remain representative should the number of infected representatives increase: A change of the local constitution could allow the parliament to make decisions even if less than half of the representatives are present. But while the SPD and CDU groups are in favour, the Greens oppose the measure and Die Linke politicians, according to the Tagesspiegel remain “sceptic” while FDP and AfD are asking for strict criteria including a time limit. The Bundestag and Brandenburg parliament have temporarily lowered the necessary percentage of present MPs to 25%.
The federal government's plans for tracking cases of corona infections via mobile phone are becoming more concrete: Around 50 soldiers in Berlin’s Julius Leber Kaserne are taking part in an exercise to help develop a tracking app which could identify chains of infection and warn smartphone users who’ve been in close proximity of an infected person. Several high-level politicians have suggested the app should only be used on a voluntary basis.
Hoping to be allowed voluntary stays at their second home in Brandenburg, two Berliners appealed to a Potsdam court of law - and won. The Ostprignitz-Ruppin district of Brandenburg had previously declared an entry ban against Berliners. The court argued that people taking advantage of their holiday homes were not likely to cause the collapse of the local health system. The entry ban, meanwhile, is not affected by the ruling.
The air is not necessarily fresher in Brandenburg: As the Tagesspiegel reports, even some of the most notoriously polluted streets (Hardenbergstraße and Leipziger Straße) reached top marks on yesterday’s air quality index. The improvement is due to a drastic decrease in traffic over the past month, 30% in the case of Leipziger Straße. The overall electricity consumption has gone down 10%, which Vattenfall thinks is down to the non-existent nightlife.
Financial aid, rent suspensions and BVG under pressure
So far, the city and federal government have given €900 million worth of immediate financial aid to freelancers and small businesses. The Senat office of commerce said the application process has been halted this afternoon so an amended federal programme could be put in place by April 6. Local businesses who had been promised zero-interest loans are still waiting urgently for their applications to be processed.
The Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof group has suspended paying rent for all department stores, sports shops and other properties until at least June. In an open letter to landlords, the company wrote that the shutdown of their shops due to the pandemic has left the company with no other option. Other retailers such as H&M and Deichmann have also announced they would halt payments, as did Adidas. Faced with criticism, however, Adidas has apologised and decided to keep paying after all.
The BVG has been criticised for limiting its service during the Corona crisis while the U-Bahn is still being used by many. Now the transport provider has explained that despite a 75% decrease in passenger numbers, service had only been reduced by 13%. With up to a quarter of staff ill, all remaining drivers are being used.
Solidarity corner
Berlin club initiative United We Stream has collected €300,000 in donations within two weeks. The sum represents a third of their crowdfunding campaign’s target. Still, the clubs are fearing for their survival because, as the Morgenpost reports, running monthly expenses are as high as €120,000 in the case of Watergate. Gretchen boss Pamela Schobeß is quoted as saying “We (the clubs) were the first to close and will probably be the last who can open again.”
Meanwhile, the Fortsetzung: Folgt. campaign launched by 36 independent cinemas has raised €32.000 since Friday. They hope to collect €10.000 for each participating cinema in order to cover running costs for the months ahead.
The local production of protective masks continues: After theatre workshops and fashion schools have started manufacturing them, now inmates of men’s prisons in Tegel and Moabit are sewing masks (as opposed to cushions and plush toys), the DPA reports. The goods are to be given to the Christian Johanniter organisation who provide care to the elderly.
Mitte mayor Stephan von Dassel (Greens) has admitted to a different and clearly less thought-out solidarity action: Not wanting to leave his Corona-infected girlfriend alone, he willingly accepted contagion. After two weeks of quarantine in the couple’s shared flat, he told RBB he was feeling better - and that he had underestimated the virus. Yeah, not your typical man flu, Stephan!