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You had to act now. Berlin has the highest incidence in seven days of all the federal states. Each day, the value approaches 50 critical infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. On Tuesday it stood at 44.5. Two of the crown lights were red.
Merkel, Spahn, Söder – everyone looks at this city. Therefore, the Senate decided on stricter rules Tuesday night: a curfew starting at 11 pm, nighttime contact restrictions and a ban on crowds in parks. It remains to be seen whether that will be enough or soon the entire city will become a risk zone.
Can the spread in Berlin continue to be controlled at this stage?
That depends on individual behavior, but also on policy makers. In an ideal world, everyone wears masks as soon as they get together outside the home. This greatly reduces the chance of infection, not so much for the mask wearer, but for those who are close to an infected mask wearer.
If you also keep your distance, stay home as long as possible in case of symptoms or after contact with infected people, and then wear a mask there, the spread of the virus can slow down considerably even in metropolitan areas. In addition, there must be constant, effective, very regular or permanent ventilation.
In the cold season of the year, the likelihood of infection increases when you breathe air, not least because people are further inside again and because droplet infections are more likely in colder, drier air.
Can health authorities continue to trace chains of infection?
The health authorities are gathering the staff again. In principle, contact tracing is still possible, although the daily rate of increase is sometimes higher than at the beginning of the pandemic. This is also due to the fact that the health authorities have been expanding their human resources since March.
In some districts, pandemic teams have been created that participate almost exclusively in contact tracing. Tracking is becoming “increasingly difficult” and is “extremely complex,” they say.
How did this situation arise in Berlin?
The virus spreads much faster in metropolitan areas than in rural areas. In other big cities like Bremen or Hamburg, the incidence is now more than 30. In big cities, people meet more frequently, take buses and trains together, and the housing situation is often tighter.
Initially, the number of infections increased rapidly in the inner city districts, but now the number of infections is also increasing on the outskirts of the city. The virus is spreading throughout Berlin and, unlike larger outbreaks in apartment buildings, it can no longer be confined to a few hot spots.
In a risk analysis largely ignored by the federal government in 2012, it was assumed that Berlin would have to struggle particularly long and hard with the consequences of a pandemic.
Right now, young Berliners in particular are driving the pandemic, the 20- to 40-year-old age group particularly likely to test positive for the virus. In households, however, the “less robust population groups” are also becoming increasingly infected.
What role do celebrations and private parties play as drivers of the pandemic?
At least from the inner-city districts of Berlin, doctors and politicians unanimously report that the infection process is triggered by private celebrations, weddings, birthdays and meetings with friends. Illegal parties also play a role, especially the ones that now increasingly take place in closed venues again in the fall.
People are now picking up on their casual summer habits of hanging out with them indoors, a medical officer says this is significantly more dangerous than outdoor raves. It was just on the weekend that 50 people were infected at a wedding with hundreds of people in Neukölln. There was a similar case in Tempelhof-Schöneberg in mid-September, when at least 30 people were infected.
Berlin threatens a second blockade?
This threat is very real due to the sharp increase in the number of new infections. Red-red-green knows it too. On Tuesday night, the Senate agreed to a curfew, nighttime contact restrictions and a ban on people gathering at night in parks. The objective is to avoid a second blockade. “Without taking action, we would come to new restrictions in the direction of a blockade,” said government mayor Michael Müller.
Why aren’t breaches tracked more systematically?
The district regulatory authorities are hardly staffed enough to carry out their actual functions. He’s overwhelmed by checking the rules and collecting fines. According to the internal administration, the police have also been busy breaking up illegal parties for weeks and are on the brink of resilience.
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Those responsible are particularly concerned: Berlin does not have two or three centers like Hamburg or Munich, but hundreds of party places. It is almost impossible to control everywhere. Therefore, the first responsible hope that “examples will be given”.
What role do children play in kindergartens and schools?
In addition to young adults, children are seen as important, but innocent here, drivers of the pandemic. The closure of schools and nurseries probably did a great deal to ease the situation in the spring and early summer. Now in the cold season of the year, face-to-face classes and nurseries make people mix hard and in a confined space.
With each child, the likelihood of the presence of corona-infected persons without symptoms and their transmission of the virus increases. Also, children’s behavior is sometimes difficult to control in terms of preventing infections.
[Die Zahl der Corona-Infektionen in der Hauptstadt steigen rasant: Verfolgen Sie hier die Entwicklungen im Corona-Blog für Berlin.]
According to experts like didactics researcher Christoph Mall, the probability of infection could be greatly reduced if children were well instructed in all situations where their education was not severely disrupted, if classes were reduced in size, children would wear masks during part of the week. Learn at home, and if most of the lessons take place outdoors, with the window permanently open or after installing effective air filters.
How can you better protect yourself in Berlin? What should you avoid?
Protecting yourself works mainly through the mentioned behaviors: distance, hygiene, constant ventilation and the minimization of staying in places with many people.
However, self-protection is not the most important key, but external protection. In addition to the aforementioned factors, a correctly worn and hygienically treated mask plays an important role.
