As of Monday night, the officially confirmed number of Corona infections in Berlin lies at 2581.
Tonight’s official Corona report lists 2581 confirmed cases, 119 more than last night . The number of patients requiring emergency care has jumped from 70 to 84 overnight. The gender difference in infections is leveling up, with currently 1370 men and 1204 women infected with the virus (the other seven people’s gender is not known). So far, 13 Berliners have died, the average age of the deceased is 82.
The Covid-19 hospital and why pedestrians should move away from sidewalks (or not)
The transformation of Westend’s Messe fair hall into a Covid-19 hospital is to begin on Wednesday. Project coordinator Albrecht Broemme stated that the first medical equipment and beds will also be expected later this week. The week before last, Broemme had proclaimed the whole thing with its 1000 extra emergency beds would be ready within three weeks, but last night Health Senator Kalayci said the target is now “April/May.” The head of the CDU at the city parliament was “shocked” to hear about the delay and criticised the process as much too slow. Here’s hoping it won’t become another BER!
To stay safe, pedestrian lobby group FUSS e.V. is advising people to walk on the street if the sidewalk is too busy or too narrow. They point out that in order to keep the prescribed 1.5m distance, a step to the side may be necessary, but recommend only adults walk on the street and that they should keep on the left to better see approaching cars. The police strongly disagree with the group though. A spokesperson told the Tagesspiegel that traffic rules were still to be enforced by officials. Really seems like staying home is the only safe option here.
Talking about walking in the street: Local trade associations are calling for the no-cars experiment on Friedrichstraße be postponed. The current plan is to close the street to all Autos from June until the end of November, but the associations claim that a car ban would be an extra burden on businesses and hotels already suffering due to the Corona crisis. They also demand the Senat invest in a concept to make the street more inviting for pedestrians before closing it to cars.
Park bench discord and potential fines
After police chief Barbara Slowik explained to Berliners last week that sitting on benches or grass outside for extended periods of time was not permitted under the current Berlin safety restrictions, today the interior committee of city parliament debated the question of public parks. Politicians of Die Linke and the Greens are keen to allow longer stays outdoors should be possible for individuals, families and pairs in parks as long as distance is maintained. But Interior Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) maintained that if too many people go to the park, “many pairs equal a large crowd and hence a risk of infection.”
Meanwhile a catalogue of fines for offences against the safety restrictions in Berlin is in the making. The Tagesspiegel has managed to get hold of a draft which lists a €50-500 penalty for disregarding the 1.5m safety distance, €500 for going out without a good reason, €25-75 for not carrying ID and up to €10.000 for businesses that remain open despite being in one of the categories of shops and establishments that are no longer allowed to do so. City government is to discuss and perhaps ratify the draft tomorrow (Tuesday).
So far, whilst Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik called the majority of the Berlin population ‘’exemplary’’ at the Abgeordnetenhaus today, she noted individual cases where police officers were deliberately spat or coughed on. This comes after several people were arrested on Saturday after a gathering of over 200 people at Kottbusser Tor in Kreuzberg and Boxhagener Platz had to be blocked off after about 150 people were found hanging out on the grass.
IBB aid, the Schaubühne and Bayer
After the application process for financial aid for freelancers, self-entrepreneurs and small businesses went haywire over the weekend, city-owned investment bank IBB has reportedly already transferred €300 million during the day on Monday. A further portion of payments mounting to €200 million was planned for the evening. Meanwhile the promised zero interest loans for businesses were halted on the weekend, after only 836 got to apply - leaving thousands of others in the lurch after waiting for up to five days. According to IBB the budget of €200 million was already maxed out. The Senat announced it is looking into increasing the budget to €1 billion.
The Schaubühne’s artistic director Thomas Ostermeier told DPA the theatre had to reduce its employees’ hours for the time being. Theatres have been closed for two weeks now and are feeling the pinch. While their free online programme is a great offer to the public (Check out our 25 free things to do during quarantine!) Ostermeier said the Schaubühne is looking into ways to avoid racking up debt.
Berlin is cooperating with pharma giant Bayer to open a new Corona testing lab in Wedding. The company has agreed to dedicate two floors of its big Berlin headquarters and 40 diagnostic devices to the job and reports that 140 employees have volunteered to analyse the tests. The city is hoping for 1000 more tests per day happening at the new lab. The shortage of sufficiently equipped laboratories is the reason for the limited capacity of currently 2000 tests per day in Berlin.
Berlin saving on buses and toilet paper
After temporarily canceling service on lines U55, 16, 18, 37 and 67, the BVG is now also shutting down bus lines X36, X49, 218, 291 and 380. On most of the respective routes alternative service is available, just don’t try to take public transport down to Wannsee and the Pfaueninsel. But since tourism is banned, you weren’t going to anyway, were you? Let’s hope the peacocks are enjoying isolation.
The Berlin waterworks and sewage operator BWB is offering a toilet paper calculator on their website: Enter how many layers your toilet paper has, how often you need to ‘go’, how many people live in your household and how many rolls you have, and the site will tell you how long you’re covered. It’s a fun fact but BWB’s main concern is that some people buy so much loo roll that others have to use paper towels and other tissues which can block the water pumps in the system. BWB also list sewer-friendly alternatives such as using washcloths instead. Either way, keep it clean folks!