Vaccines without prioritization by June Bonn Kitas will reduce their services soon

Bonn · Daycare centers in Bonn will be offering reduced services beginning on Monday next week. The Infection Protection Act goes into effect on Friday. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) expects Covid-19 vaccinations to be released for all by June at the latest.

 Bonn Kitas.

Bonn Kitas.

Foto: dpa/Uwe Anspach

Kitas (daycare centers) in Bonn will return to reduced services as of Monday. Contrary to what Lord Mayor Katja Dörner (Greens) had called for, the parents' profession will not be an influencing factor in deciding which children are still allowed into daycare. Dörner wanted both parents to be essential workers in order to qualify for emergency care. A similar rule initially applied in the first lockdown a year ago. Essential jobs include doctors, firefighters and police.

NRW Family Minister Joachim Stamp (FDP) wants to focus on the needs of parents at this time. Among other things, all working parents who can demonstrate they have no childcare alternative will be allowed to continue sending their children to Kitas. Stamp also announced his intention to reimburse parents for two months' fees to compensate for the reduction in care. However, the municipalities would have to contribute half of this amount.

Emergency brake

Meanwhile, the controversial new federal Infection Protection Act has cleared the final hurdles and takes effect Friday, April 23. First, it passed the Bundesrat on Thursday despite massive criticism from the states, then it was signed by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and later published in the Federal Law Journal. The details of how the emergency brake will take effect in Bonn are to be announced this Friday after a meeting of the crisis management team. It has not yet been decided how public transport will react to the planned curfew. The police do not intend to send additional officers on patrol for controls. A spokesman for the Bonn police said that they would not go into private homes without a reason. However, they will take action if, for example, they are called out for disturbing the peace and find an unauthorized number of people.

Vaccination

As the vaccination campaign progresses, the pressure is growing on politicians to end prioritization. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) expects Covid-19 vaccinations to be released for all by June at the latest. He expects "that we will be able to lift prioritization in June," Spahn said in the Bundesrat. He would be happy if this were possible even earlier. The first German states are pressing ahead and administering vaccinations from Astrazeneca. Bavaria, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin reported they were using the vaccine (it’s use had been halted temporarily and then restricted for use in only people over 60). The head of the family doctor association NRW, Oliver Funken, calls for North Rhine-Westphalia to follow suit. "If we want to make gains now, we have to lift the prioritization - NRW should follow the example of other states," Funken said. But NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) is not on board with that. A cancellation of the prioritization is not planned, communicated the Ministry. There are still many people over 60 in the state who would gladly accept the offer of a vaccine from Astrazeneca. If doses are left over at vaccination centers, they should be passed on, Laumann's spokeswoman explained: "If smaller quantities are left over, the vaccination teams are urged to cut through the red tape to give them to people with the highest vaccination priority." On Monday, federal and state government leaders will convene for a vaccination summit.

(Orig. text: GA / Translation Carol Kloeppel)

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