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CHILDCARE

When and how will Germany’s daycare centres reopen?

Daycare centres (or Kitas) around Germany have only offered emergency care during the corona crisis, but that's set to change soon.

When and how will Germany's daycare centres reopen?
A sign reading "We miss you" hangs outside of a kindergarten in Stuttgart on April 27th. Photo: DPA

During the corona crisis, many parents have been torn between working from home and taking care of their young children.

Daycare centres (or Kitas) in most states have only been available for parents employed in emergency professions and in some states, such as Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, for single parents.

But now a bit of relief could be underway: Family ministers from each of Germany’s 16 states have published a paper that calls for the “cautious” reopening of Kitas around Germany.

READ ALSO: State by state: When (and how) will Germany's schools reopen?

What does the proposal entail?

A four-phase model, first proposed by Federal Minister of Family Affairs Giffey (SPD), is currently under discussion

The phases include emergency care, as it is already in place; extended emergency care, ie. for single parents in all states, starting on May 11th; limited regular operations; and a return to full normal operations. 

A sign hangs outside of a Berlin Kita telling children they're missed. Photo: DPA

The proposal states that, after every additional phase implemented, the new cases should be closely monitored for two weeks before a further step can follow.

The ultimate goal is still to slow down the spread of the coronavirus and interrupt infection chains. 

Implementing the model will ultimately lie in the hands of each German state. 

Yet Germany's Integration Commissioner, Annette Widmann-Mauz, emphasised that a quick decision would be necessary 

“It cannot be that the reopening of the Bundesliga receives more public attention than parents and children with special needs for support,” she said on Wednesday.

What proposals have so far come from individual federal states?

Berlin's mayor Michael Müller (SPD) announced on Thursday morning that Kitas are in the process of returning to normal operation. “We are already at about 40 percent of operations and gradually going up to 70 percent,” he said on RBB Inforadio.

Bavaria's State Premier Markus Söder has already announced that half of all children will be able to return to Kitas by mid-May. After the beginning of June, the rest of the southern state's Kitas are also slated to open their doors again.

Starting on May 11th, Kitas for up to five children at a time will be allowed again.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania also plans to open up Kitas for all children starting on May 18th.


Lower Saxony's state government has drawn up a step-by-step plan in which Kitas will begin to open up, first with five children at a time, on May 11th.

North Rhine-Westphalia is perhaps the state which is most eager to open up its Kitas. “We will not be put off another week,” said state Family Minister Joachim Stamp (FDP) in a podcast.

He added that necessary steps must be taken day care workers and educators “feel safe even in times of pandemic.” While the state has laid out a plan for opening up public life again, it is still unclear when regular Kita operations will resume

What do independent experts demand?

The Trade Union for Education and Science (GEW) said that sufficient time is needed to gradually bring children back into a daycare setting.

“More children in this situation means that there has to be good planning in order to rearrange rooms, remove furniture, redistribute toys and plan sufficient staffing. This cannot be done overnight,” GEW board member Björn Köhler told the Tagesschau. 

He said that carers also need to be adequately protected: Anyone who belongs to a risk group, or is over 60 years old, should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to look after children. 

In addition, the GEW stated that no more than five children at a time should be looked after.

However, Germany’s Association of Paediatricians and Adolescent Doctors is pushing for a speedy reopening of daycare centres.

Kitas and elementary schools must be quickly reopened “with clever measures to prevent infection,” President Thomas Fischbach told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. 

“This may require a lot of effort from teachers and educators. But it is better than letting the children wither away in their own four walls. And that would happen,” he said.

A sign for emergency childcare for single parents hangs outside of a school in Hamburg. Photo: DPA

How great is the risk of infection among children?

The findings on this question vary widely. 

According to a recent study, children can spread the coronavirus in the same way as adults.

The number of viruses which can be detected in the respiratory tract does not differ between different age groups, report researchers led by virologist Drosten from the Charité Hospital in Berlin

Based on their results, the researchers warn against an unrestricted opening of schools and kindergartens in Germany.

A recent study in Iceland had shown that children under ten years of age were significantly less likely to be infected with the coronavirus than adults.

Yet earlier data from China, on the other hand, has suggested that children were infected just as often as adults from the coronavirus, but less likely to become ill. 

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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