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Friday, February 26, 2021
Travemünde open to tourists
The Baltic coast is preparing for hikers
The mild spring weekend has consequences: police checkpoints in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania should filter out hikers from other federal states, day-trippers should avoid Usedom. However, visits to Travemünde are allowed again from Saturday.
The police have drawn attention to the ban on entry to the Vorpommern-Greifswald district due to the corona virus. Travel to the island of Usedom is not allowed except for residents of the district or with good reason, police said. Day trips or visits to the second home for non-professional reasons were not included. Also at the weekend it will be controlled again on the access roads from Poland, in the district and on its border.
The district prohibits daytime tourists from entering the country due to corona infection without good reason. It has had the highest incidences in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for a long time. The number of new infections Thursday was 121.8 in a week per 100,000 residents. Day trips from other federal states to other parts of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are not allowed according to the Corona state ordinance.
Last weekend, in addition to the approaches to the island of Usedom, the police controlled a total of almost 1,800 vehicles in the regions of Boltenhagen (north-west of Mecklenburg), Kühlungsborn and on federal highway 109 near Pasewalk (Vorpommern-Greifswald ). More than 550 vehicles, including those from Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, had to return. Some also received reports of administrative violations.
The situation is different in the seaside resort of Travemünde, on the Baltic Sea, in Schleswig-Holstein: at the request of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Kiel, the Hanseatic city of Lübeck has to lift the ban on day trips. The reason given was that the entry ban, which had been in force since December, was disproportionate. Now local authorities expect numerous guests and a growing risk of infection on Saturday. There are also fears of the effects of the displacement of the tourism ban in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The cities of North Rhine-Westphalia are preparing strict controls
Especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, cities are getting tighter after last weekend’s crowds. More controls have been announced in many places, especially in parks and green spaces. In Düsseldorf, visitors no longer have to stop or sit in the popular Old Town or on the Rhine. In Cologne and Dortmund, a mask is required in some parks on weekends. Street performers can no longer perform in Cologne city center.
Düsseldorf has imposed a “suspension ban” for the old town and the nearby banks of the Rhine over the next weekend until March 14. Therefore, for most of the day it is forbidden to stand in the area for longer, sit or lie in a meadow. In addition, it is mandatory to wear a mask, both for walkers and runners. The security service wants to control it. A few minutes before the start of the event, the administrative court rejected an urgent request against the “suspension ban”.
Dortmund expands the mask requirement in the city area. Not only in Lake Phoenix, where many people recently went out on warm days, but also in various parks, from Saturdays on weekends and holidays between 12 pm and 6 pm a mask is required on the roads. At the same time, the city called for avoiding hotspots and instead visiting an urban forest, for example. “Even cemeteries are increasingly being used by walkers as places to relax,” the city said. Conservationists have long praised cemeteries as green oases.
Cologne residents have to smoke with a mask.
Cologne also relies on more masks: in several parks there is a mask requirement on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. To provide information, the city sends bicycle rickshaws, which even give out free surgical masks if needed. When a mask is required, the smoking cover should not be removed. However, this is allowed when eating and drinking while standing or sitting. Street performers can no longer perform in the city center to avoid crowds.
Bonn is against barriers and restrictions. This would only create a scrolling effect. In still accessible areas, more people would move, the city explained. However, checks are still being carried out on popular excursion destinations. In Rheinaue, the park on the edge of the old government district, and on the banks of the Rhine, was recently crowded, but hikers kept their distance. “Wear a mask when in doubt,” the city advised.
In Hamburg, a stricter mask requirement will also apply from Saturday: due to the increasing number of new infections and rampant crown variants, the red-green Senate will prescribe additional requirements for citizens in crowded venues from Saturday. The Hanseatic city reacted to the large concentrations of people that could be seen last weekend in spring time around the Alster, on the Elbe and in the city parks.
