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It seemed like a miracle: Thanks to comprehensive protective measures for the elderly, such as free masks, special opening hours or heavily discounted taxi rides, there have been “no recent cases,” Mayor Boris Palmer told Tagesspiegel this week.
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But according to the investigation of this newspaper, this may not be true: as announced by the Tübingen district, on Thursday seven cases were reported in the age group for the city of Tübingen, and there were also some cases in the previous weeks.
When asked, the city was initially unable to resolve the discrepancy. Palmer’s statement was apparently based on the fact that the municipal law enforcement office had different numbers than the district-based health department; when asked, Palmer emphasized that fewer cases were known to the risk group in Tübingen than the national average.
A spokeswoman for the district stated that it had “identified and registered the cases at the specified addresses in Tübingen and transmitted them to the city.”
At the district level, which in addition to the city of Tübingen, where Palmer is mayor, also includes two smaller towns and surrounding communities, does not look very positive overall: according to an assessment by the Central Institute for Legal Medical Insurance, the district Tübingen currently has 338 cases per week and for every 100,000 inhabitants, Berlin has 318 cases and Freiburg, for example, 131.
In interviews, Palmer also referred to the good situation in nursing homes, where the city offers periodic testing with rapid tests. “We had no case with the people in the houses,” the mayor told Tagesspiegel.
But the situation has changed in the meantime: on Thursday, the city announced that there was an outbreak in a nursing home in Tübingen; presumably, an infected nurse had unknowingly infected several people. This became known through a quick test a few days ago; since then, at least two other employees and two residents have tested positive.
According to a press release, Palmer said the tests helped detect infection before symptoms began. “We hope we have been able to prevent such a major outbreak.” He told Tagesspiegel that this year earlier, infections had been detected among staff in three homes with no outbreaks among residents.
In April, Palmer caused horror across the country with a statement: In Germany, people would be rescued who “would still be dead in a year” due to their age or previous illnesses, he said. He later apologized for this. “I would never deny the elderly or the sick the right to live,” he said. He is sorry if it was “expressed ambiguously or forcefully.”
