Berlin, Frankfurt, Bremen: More and more cities are developing into corona hotspots. The mayors also warn that the pandemic will be decided in the metropolises. What is the situation like in big cities? An overview.
The number of corona infections is increasing almost everywhere in Germany, especially in large cities. The pandemic will be decided in the metropolises, said the First Mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, recently on ZDF. City Council President Burkhard Jung also warned in the dpa: “Whether it will be possible to slow down the second Corona wave will be decided in the next few weeks in the big cities.” Many people lived there in a confined space.
The urban confinement certainly plays a certain role. People cannot avoid each other in the same way as in rural areas, for example when they have to use buses, subways or buses. But private parties and celebrations in clubs and bars are also considered sources of infection.
Berlin, Bremen and Frankfurt am Main are already among the corona hotspots – more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants have been registered in the past seven days. Other cities are dangerously scratching the critical mark.
Reason enough to discuss how to proceed together. Chancellor Angela Merkel did it today – she spoke via video conference with the mayors of the eleven largest German cities. These are: Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen, Leipzig and Stuttgart. What is the current situation in these cities – an overview:
Berlin
One of the important key figures for assessing the corona situation has risen above the warning value of 50 for the whole of Berlin for the first time. The number of new infections reported per 100,000 inhabitants within the past seven days in the capital is now 52.8. That comes from the Corona situation report of the Senate Health Administration from Thursday. Previously, the so-called seven-day incidence had only exceeded the critical 50 value in a few city districts.
The authorities see illegal parties and private celebrations with excessive alcohol consumption as sources of infection. The Robert Koch Institute also attributes the increasing numbers in Berlin to young, international travelers and partiers, “who get infected on the go or at parties and then spread these infections in their households and families”.
The Senate has now responded with additional measures: From Saturday, a night curfew and stricter contact bans for indoors and outdoors will apply. Most shops and all restaurants and bars have to close between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Only five people or people from two households are allowed to gather outdoors from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Private celebrations in closed rooms are only allowed to be attended by a maximum of ten instead of the previous 25 people. There is also a general mask requirement in office and administrative buildings.
Berlin Health Senator Dilek Kalayci said in the rbb: “The time of socializing is over. The situation in Berlin is serious.”
If you live in Berlin and want to leave during the autumn break, you should find out more beforehand. The vast majority of the federal states imposed bans on accommodation from Corona hotspots, which also include Berlin and some districts.
Hamburg
The number of corona cases in Hamburg is also increasing continuously. There were 125 new cases on Thursday alone. Most recently there were outbreaks in a refugee shelter, two old people’s homes and after celebrations in a trendy bar. Many of the guests had given incorrect contact details, so that contact tracking was difficult or impossible.
The city plans to take stricter corona measures if the incidence value is above 35 for three days in a row. In this case, as of next Monday, a mask requirement will apply to all people in restaurants and retail outlets, said Mayor Tschentscher after consultations with the Senate. So that also applies to the staff. “In addition, we will monitor compliance with the rules even more, especially in the catering trade,” said Tschentscher.
If the number of infections continues to move at a high level, mouth and nose covers must also be worn from Monday at all events in closed rooms and in buildings with public traffic and in public places where there are larger gatherings and narrow spaces. At events with fixed seats, according to the cultural authorities, mouth and nose protection only has to be worn until the seat is taken – for example in the theater, cinema or concert. The mask can be removed at the place.
According to the health authority, there should also be a mask requirement in places where corona rules have repeatedly been violated – for example in the Schanzenviertel or St. Pauli.
Bremen
The Hanseatic city of Bremen is not spared from rising corona numbers either. The upper limit of 50 new infections was torn on Thursday. Since then, there have been stricter rules for private celebrations, public events and also for the wearing of masks. “We will now do everything we can to ensure that the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants is pushed back below the critical value of 50 within seven days,” said Bremen’s Prime Minister Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD).
After today’s switching conference, the Bremen Senate wants to discuss whether measures need to be tightened further. This also concerns possible travel restrictions for vacationers from inner-German risk areas. Bovenschulte said he did not believe in “Corona multinationals” or in domestic German travel restrictions. However, the Senate will decide whether Bremen will stick to its negative stance or follow suit like other federal states.
Munich
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder has not recently made himself popular with some of his country colleagues. One accusation: “Berlin bashing”. Some cities like Berlin are on the verge of losing control, “warned the CSU chief in the direction of the red-red-green Senate. Berlin got help from Hamburg:” Anyone who has a suggestion on how to do better than Berlin should call him “, said town hall chief Tschentscher to the” Spiegel “and reminded:” There were times when Munich had the highest infection rates. And nobody said that this was due to the nature of the people of Munich. “
The seven-day incidence is currently rising again in Munich, but remains below the critical limit value of 50. In Munich, the sharper signal value of 35 applies – and this mark is also just below this. But given the trend, the city extended some restrictive measures. These include, for example, restrictions on meetings and in catering. There is also still a ban on alcohol in central squares in the city center on weekends.
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt am Main is now also one of the corona hotspots. The critical 50 mark has been exceeded. The city said the number of new infections has almost doubled in the past ten days. As a reaction, alcohol bans and the general obligation to wear mouth and nose protection in certain areas apply. In addition, a curfew was introduced for the time between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. This was originally planned for 10 p.m.
Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen
North Rhine-Westphalia has had the highest infection rates of all German territorial states for days. Several cities have been above the critical mark for days – for various reasons. With Cologne and Essen, two major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia are now only just below the critical mark. The state health center gave the value for Cologne on Friday with 49.8 (plus 4.4 compared to the previous day), for Essen with 48.4 (plus 5.0).
There was also a massive increase in Herne: The Ruhr area city came to a value of 56.2 (plus 22.4 compared to the previous day) and is therefore now a corona risk area. Similar in the Unna district. What worries the authorities there: They cannot attribute the increase to a single Superspreader event. Rather, the new cases reported were evenly distributed across all cities in the district. There are infections and suspected cases in several schools, daycare centers and in soccer teams. This makes contact tracing particularly difficult for the health authorities.
In Düsseldorf and Dortmund, the numbers are still comparatively moderate – in both cities the seven-day incidence is around 26, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
Leipzig
Leipzig was the only East German city to take part in the video switch with the Chancellor. Compared to western German federal states, the corona numbers in Saxony are lower with a total of around 7700 cases, but the trend is now also clearly upwards. The number of new infections is increasing sharply, especially in the Zwickau district and in the Erzgebirge district. But also in the Bautzen district. The limit was exceeded here on Thursday – major events were then canceled.
Significantly more new infections are also registered in Dresden and Leipzig. Leipzig’s Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung now considers alcohol bans in public places and a mask requirement in pedestrian zones to be conceivable.
According to Jung, who is also President of the City Council, “the cities are doing everything they can to keep the pandemic under control.” Many already acted according to a tiered concept. “As soon as the nationwide levels of 35 or 50 corona diseases per 100,000 inhabitants are exceeded in a city, strict requirements take effect. These can be an expanded mask requirement, upper limits for events or restricted visiting rules in hospitals or nursing homes.”
Jung also warned that if the number of new infections continued to rise rapidly, the health authorities would reach their limits because chains of infection could no longer be traced.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart’s neighboring district of Esslingen is already a Corona hotspot – a mask requirement in public places and stricter participant restrictions at celebrations and events apply here with immediate effect.
The situation is also risky in other municipalities in Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart (43.7) is above the critical mark of 35 new infections. In the state capital, in view of the increasing number of infections, the requirements for celebrations were tightened on Wednesday. The districts of Göppingen (34.9) and Mannheim (33.8) also have high values.
Stuttgart’s Lord Mayor Fritz Kuhn strongly reminds the situation of the situation in March. “More and more cases are being registered, the infection process is becoming more diffuse. That worries us,” said the Green politician. A far-reaching lockdown must be prevented. Therefore private gatherings would be restricted.
