BONN. Devastating floods in the Ahr Valley, droughts in local fields and ever-increasing emissions from global trade and supply chains: Our lives have long since been affected by the consequences of climate change. What were dismissed years ago as utopian future scenarios have now become a bitter reality.

Nevertheless, in order to turn the tide at the last minute, Bonn aims to become climate neutral by 2035. But many strings will have to pulled to make this happen. To ensure a successful transformation to a liveable city, the idea and project laboratory ‘Bonn in Transition’ has developed the participation process “Bonn4Future - Wir fürs Klima” (we are for the climate). Randomly selected citizens will meet in four different forums with representatives from the city administration department and civil society to discuss how this ambitious goal can be achieved. This weekend, the second and third Climate Forum focused on the topics of mobility and housing.

The city has just decided to extend the participation process until the end of April 2023, following recommendations by the Environment Committee and the Citizens' Committee.

The fourth Climate Forum will take place on September 9 and 10, focusing on the Bonn Climate Plan. The results of all the workshops will then be presented to the mayor and brought to Bonn City Council. (Original text: Gabriele Immenkeppel)

BONN. The city of Bonn has announced it will start operating another housing site for Ukrainian refugees. The first people are expected to be housed at Wielandstraße 4 in Rüngsdorf, in the district of Bad Godesberg from July 1. The building will offer space for 300 to 400 people.

This will be the third large housing site provided by the city in a matter after weeks, after the accommodation at Siebengebirgsstraße 200 in Roleber, Beuel and at Mallwitzstraße 2-4 in Lannesdorf, Bad Godesberg. In addition, two container facilities are to be installed in the city area: one in the street ‘In der Raste’ in Dottendorf and the other in the street ‘Am Herz-Jesu-Kloster’ in Pützchen/Bechlinghoven, Beuel. Plans are currently under way for both sites.

“At Wielandstraße 4, we will be able to quickly accommodate some of the people currently living in hotels in municipal accommodation,” explained Social Affairs Director Carolin Krause. The acquisition of apartments and buildings by the municipal building management department remains a high priority.

4,193 refugees from Ukraine have so far registered with the city administration department in Bonn, with 337 of these having since moved away. According to the city, it has accommodated 2369 people in total - 545 in municipal accommodation, 184 in apartments, 1023 in hotels. 617 people have been placed with private hosts. The administration department expects that many of these will not be able to stay in private accommodation for a long time. (Original text: ga)

BONN. Recently fewer people have been catching COVID, but since the beginning of June the number of infections has been on the rise. Since Monday, the seven-day incidence rate in Bonn has increased from 180 to 290. The highest rates are among 20 to 29 year olds (471.3) and 30 to 39 year olds (453.2). The city is currently reporting 1903 infected persons. There are 58 people undergoing medical treatment for COVID-19, ten of whom are in intensive care. Five people are on ventilation. The health authorities in Bonn have not been able to identify the cause of the renewed increase in infections, which is also seen at a nationwide level. They assume that it is due to the reopening of social life. In addition, the particularly contagious omicron subtype BA.5 is spreading, with the BA.2 variant still dominating. In order to identify the variant, ten percent of positive PCR tests are currently being sequenced.

Despite rising infection rates, the diagnostic centre in Bad Godesberg, which was taken out of operation on June 1, remains closed. The city is providing mobile teams for COVID testing, for example in the event of an outbreak in places with vulnerable groups of people. All others are advised to go to a medical practice for PCR testing.

To date, the city has not issued any entry or working bans against unvaccinated persons working for institutions where vaccinations are legally required. Vice city spokesman Marc Hoffmann said the city health authorities are still reviewing all the cases. Institutions such as nursing homes and hospitals had until the end of March to declare all employees who were not fully vaccinated. Hoffmann added that the city has not yet had to impose any fines on employers for not registering.

A total of 2229 persons have been reported to the health authorities, he said. 1408 cases have now been closed where incomplete vaccination records had been submitted, or additional documents and corrections were required. Hoffmann explained that the preliminary examinations have not yet been completed for all cases: “For all reported unvaccinated persons without sufficient proof of recovery from infection or a medical exemption from vaccination, a ban on entry or work will be decided on a case-to-case basis.” It can be assumed that only some of the open cases will be about this. At the health department itself, two temporary employment contracts were not continued due to a lack of vaccination, Hoffmann said.

The University Hospital (UKB) reported 150 employees without a valid vaccination certificate. When asked how high the proportion of unvaccinated nursing staff is, the UKB gave an evasive answer: “The approximately 150 employees are spread across all professional fields.” At the beginning of April, the number of unvaccinated workers was reported at around 800. The UKB cited the reasons for this high number as the size of the hospital and the difficulties in reaching all employees. Spokeswoman Verena Henn said, “The UKB is in discussions with staff”.

From Wednesday, masks are no longer required in municipal service buildings. However, the city recommends that masks continue to be worn. (Original text: Philipp Königs and Julia Rosner)

(Translations: Caroline Kusch)