Uncertain infection rate development Incidence in Bonn rises to over 50
Bonn · In Bonn, the seven-day incidence value is already 52.2, which means that incidence level 2 is expected to come into effect on Friday. The health department speaks of a diffuse infection incidence, triggered mainly by holiday-makers returning home.
From 41.6 to 52.2, the seven-day incidence in Bonn jumped from Monday to Tuesday, according to data from the city of Bonn. This means that 172 new infections have been reported to the health department in the past seven days. According to calculations by the city of Bonn, the incidence value has been continuously above 35.1 since August 4 - with the consequence that incidence level 2 will probably come into effect from Friday, and thus additional restrictions will once again apply for citizens in Bonn.
As Markus Schmitz of the press office explained to the GA when asked on Tuesday, the administration assumes at this point in time that stricter Corona rules are to be expected again as of Friday. Asked if the city could explain the nevertheless significant jump upward, Schmitz said there continues to be a "diffuse incidence of infection" due primarily to travelers returning to the country, familial transmission and discovery of infections in asymptomatic persons after testing for specific occasions.
In response to a GA question about whether there are neighborhoods with strikingly high incidence, he said, "Small-area incidences are currently only of limited value for the infection incidence in the city. That's because when you look at small areas, very small numbers of infected people currently have a high impact on incidence in that area." For example, he said, the health department recorded three new cases in the Hoholz statistical district, which has a population of 2527, but this translates into a seven-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants of 118 there. In the statistical district of Alt-Tannenbusch with 6758 inhabitants, 15 newly reported cases in seven days meant an incidence of 222. "The incidence in Alt-Tannenbusch, for example, comes from travelers returning to Germany, especially from Turkey, Morocco, Spain and Bulgaria," Schmitz explains.
Different data on the incidence value
He also provided an explanation for the differing incidence value data on the City of Bonn site and on the site of the NRW State Center for Health (LZG). As reported, the table of the LZG has been showing higher values than those of the city for days - already since July 30, they have been consistently above 35.1. According to Schmitz, this is due to the fact that the LZG subsequently corrects the figures if changes have occurred afterwards, for example due to subsequent reports. However, it is not the subsequently corrected figures of the LZG that are decisive for the incidence levels, but those of the Robert Koch Institute.
The LZG itself points this out on its website. There it says literally under the heading Corona reporting situation: "For the incidence levels of the Corona Protection Regulation (CoronaSchVO), the publication of the RKI on www.rki.de/inzidenzen is authoritative. The data there do not take into account cases transmitted by health offices for past reporting days and therefore differ from our daily updated Corona reporting levels."
If the value in Bonn is consistently above 50.1 over the next eight days, incidence level 3 would normally come into effect next, on the second day following after the eight-day period. However, as is well known, the NRW state government has suspended this until August 19. In addition, it remains to be seen whether the federal and state governments will possibly remove the linkage of regulations solely to the seven-day incidence in favor of a different solution.
In Bonn, incidence level 2 - should it apply from Friday - will mean, among other things (except for those vaccinated or recovering), restrictions again on indoor catering or recreational facilities such as swimming pools, which may no longer be visited without negative tests. In addition, there are again contact restrictions (except for vaccinated and recovered persons). For example, only members of three households are allowed to meet without restrictions. If everyone tests negative, ten people are also allowed to meet regardless of their households. Large events and parties are no longer allowed. The number of customers in stores is also limited to ten square meters per person (20 square meters per person for sales areas of 800 square meters or more).
(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen / Translation: Mareike Graepel)
