Current Corona situation NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst tested positive for Corona

North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst has tested positive for the corona virus.The RKI has again reported a peak in the seven-day incidence. In Bonn, the value has fallen. Here are some current developments concerning the pandemic as well as case numbers

 North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst has tested positive for the corona virus.

North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst has tested positive for the corona virus.

Foto: dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd

Wüst tested positive for Corona during Israel trip

North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) tested positive for the Corona virus during a trip to Israel. Another PCR test will be carried out to be sure, delegation circles said on Monday.

Wüst had only started a four-day trip to Israel on Sunday and laid a wreath at the Israeli Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Jerusalem on Monday. As a precautionary measure, the Prime Minister will not make any further appointments on his trip for the time being, according to participants.

As the Deutsche Presse-Agentur learned, Wüst had taken a PCR test before entering Israel as well as immediately after his entry, both of which were negative, according to the information. The third test had now produced a positive result. A female bodyguard also had two positive PCR test results.

It is still unclear whether and how long Wüst will have to remain in quarantine in Israel before he can test free for a flight home, and whether and in what form he will be able to attend the Prime Ministers' Conference (MPK) on Thursday if the infection is confirmed. Wüst is currently the chair of the MPK.

For the new head of government, who has only been in office for five months, it is the first official trip outside Europe. He is travelling with a relatively small delegation, as the state chancellery had reported in advance. The 46-year-old was to meet representatives from politics, business and culture in Israel. One focus of the trip was to be the further development of economic relations. For the other appointments on Monday, Wüst was to be represented in Israel by a state secretary. 

Incidence in Bonn at 1702.8

The seven-day incidence in Bonn on Monday was 1702.8, a slight drop over the weekend. On Friday, the city of Bonn still reported a value of 1835.3 after the record value of 1890.3 on Thursday. The city registered 5,629 new infections in the past seven days, 66,629 Bonn residents have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

The incidence in the Rhein-Sieg district was 1,051.7 on Monday, according to the State Centre for Health (LZG).

Rhineland-Palatinate to relax Corona rules two weeks later

In view of the rising number of new infections with the Corona virus, Rhineland-Palatinate will probably relax the Corona rules two weeks later than planned. In view of the infection dynamics, he will propose to the cabinet on Tuesday to extend the current control regulation essentially until 2 April, Health Minister Clemens Hoch (SPD) announced.

According to the federal government's plans, most of the Corona regulations are to be dropped as of 20 March. Protective measures such as mandatory masks in hospitals, nursing homes and on buses and trains will remain in place. However, state parliaments are allowed a transitional period of two weeks, which Hoch wants to use. 

Significantly more packaging waste in the Corona Year 2020 

In the Corona year 2020, German households consumed significantly more packaging than in the previous year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, waste management companies collected 78 kilograms of packaging waste per capita, six kilograms more than the year before. The total volume of packaging waste, which is mainly collected in the yellow bin as well as glass and paper containers, increased by 9.3 per cent to 6.5 million tonnes.

A total of 6.4 million tonnes of the used packaging was handed over to waste treatment plants or recyclers in 2020 after sorting. Of this, almost four-fifths (79 percent) could be recycled. 12 percent of the packaging waste (0.8 million tonnes) was recycled for energy, for example in combustion plants.

Growing criticism of planned Corona relaxations

A few days before most Corona restrictions expire, criticism of the federal government's pandemic policy continues. On Wednesday, amendments to the Infection Protection Act are to be debated for the first time in the Bundestag; most of the nationwide Corona restrictions are to be dropped on 20 March. Just two days later, the plenary session is to decide on the controversial draft proposed by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP). Lauterbach and Buschmann propose a significantly reduced basic protection for the whole of Germany. According to the proposal, only mandatory masks in nursing homes, clinics and local transport - and mandatory tests in homes and schools - should be possible nationwide. The obligation to wear masks on trains and planes is also to remain nationwide. However, the federal states are to be able to decide on further Corona requirements for pre-determined hotspots. In view of the rapid spread of the virus in recent days, however, many doubt this course. The position of the Federal Minister of Health is deeply contradictory, said Eugen Brysch, director of the Patient Protection Foundation, to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.

(Original text: dpa/ga; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
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