Status: 02/17/2021 7:30 p.m.
Hamburg’s Social Senator Melanie Leonhard (SPD) said in an interview with the Hamburg Journal on NDR television that she is dissatisfied with the development of the corona numbers in the Hanseatic city. When it comes to vaccination, she expects “a big step” in March.
Should be in March 45,000 doses of the corona vaccine will be delivered by AstraZeneca to Hamburg. Then, according to Leonhard, there will be “a big step forward” with vaccination in Hamburg. “The more vaccine we have, the more appointments we can offer,” continued Leonhard.
As of Wednesday morning, 107,000 vaccine doses had been vaccinated in the Hanseatic city – two vaccinations are necessary per person. “However, we are 1.8 million inhabitants, so we still have a little something to do,” admitted the SPD politician.
Corona numbers in Hamburg stable at a high level
The lockdown since December “has already brought a lot,” said Leonhard. She pointed to a halving of the average number of infections compared to January. Nevertheless, she is not satisfied with the development of the corona numbers: “We have now been moving significantly sideways for two weeks”. That is a stabilization at a high level.
Leonhard sees a possible explanation for this in the shuttle service to Hamburg. There are outbreaks that have started with people who work in the city but do not live there.
Discussions are ongoing to offer rapid tests
For the announcement of the federal government, from March 1st offer free rapid tests, Leonhard would have liked a longer warning period. “We are the ones on site who then have to implement it,” said the politician. There are discussions with various stakeholders about where the tests could be offered.
Opening steps depend on the number of infections
Daycare centers and schools in Hamburg will reopen “as soon as we can represent them,” emphasized Leonhard. If the development of the corona numbers remains stable and goes down a bit, there will be another opening step.
To open retail stores, Leonhard said that the number of infections would have to decrease even further. When the shops open, there will be “a few more infections”. It would then have to be able to cope with these without causing an explosive development again.
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