Current Covid-19 situation „Emergency brake” measures in Bonn will be lifted starting Saturday
Bonn/Region · The incidence rate in the Rhein-Sieg district is nearing 50. In Bonn, the rate has been below 100 for the fifth day in a row, which means that restrictions can be relaxed. The BioNTech CEO comments on its vaccine efficacy against the Indian variant. Phantasialand calls for the prospect of opening up again.
After many months of lockdown, there is progress in combating the pandemic. The number of new Covid-19 infections is slowly declining. Stil, people living in Germany can expect some restrictions on their lives for some time to come.
In the meantime, more and more people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. For those affected and those who have recovered, some restrictions, including curfews, no longer apply.
„Emergency brake” to be lifted in Bonn as of Saturday
As the seven-day incidence rate in Bonn has been below the 100 mark for five consecutive working days, the stricter measures of the coronavirus “emergency brake” will be lifted on Saturday, May 22.
Here are the most important changes at a glance:
- The 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. nighttime curfew will no longer be in effect.
- Contact restrictions will be relaxed, meetings with up to five people from two households will be possible again. Children up to and including 14 years of age, fully vaccinated or recovered persons will not be counted in the equation.
- Businesses that do not serve essential needs are open to those with a negative test result, and there is a limit of one person per 20 square feet.
- Outdoor restaurants may serve guests who have a negative test result.
- Private accommodations in hotels and similar establishments are permitted at up to 60 percent of capacity; subject to a negative test result.
BioNTech CEO - vaccine up to 75 percent effective against Indian variant
BioNTech/Pfizer's vaccine is expected to have 70 to 75 percent efficacy against the variant of the virus first detected in India, according to BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin. This week's tests have focused on that variant, Sahin tells Turkish TV.
Phantasialand wants to open up again
After months of closure, amusement parks have demanded a speedy prospect for opening their doors again, also in North Rhine-Westphalia. While leisure parks are allowed to reopen in many German states, NRW is "stoically holding on to an epidemiologically and factually unjustified closure." This was criticized by the Association of German Amusement Parks and Leisure Companies (VDFU). Those who suffer are children and families, who make up the largest group of visitors. The continued closings deprive them of social encounters, shared experiences and time out from everyday life in the pandemic. The Phantasialand in Brühl near Cologne spoke on Thursday of "incomprehensible and unfair treatment”.
In states such as Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony or Schleswig-Holstein, it has been possible to develop strategies to open up parks together with the state politicians. In North Rhine-Westphalia this is still being rejected, criticized the VDFU chairman Jürgen Gevers.
Original text: GA
Translation: ck
