Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

German Bundesliga issues guidelines for fans’ return to stadiums

The return of supporters to German stadiums next season took a step closer on Wednesday as the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga's top two tiers received guidelines on how to keep spectators safe from infection amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Published: 16 July 2020 08:58 CEST
German Bundesliga issues guidelines for fans' return to stadiums
When will real fans return to stadiums in Germany? AFP

The Bundesliga season finished at the end of June with the last nine round of matches played behind closed doors.

However, with clubs having lost millions in match day revenue, the German Football league (DFL) has provided help in how to create a safe environment in grounds.

READ ALSO: All eyes on Germany as Bundesliga football returns

“The guideline serves as an orientation for the basic structure” of hygiene concepts and “contains numerous aspects to be considered,” the DFL said in a statement.

Each club would need their concept approved by the local health authority.

The DFL's guide has already been submitted to the German government's Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) for evaluation.

As the league points out, the BMG says high standards of protection to prevent infection is a basic requirement before fans can return.

Germany has had around 200,000 coronavirus cases, the majority which have recovered, and recorded 9,071 deaths due to the virus.

Top clubs like champions Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are reportedly already working on hygiene concepts which could see a number of fans return.

Dortmund have tested a system to measure body temperatures of supporters.

“I am hopeful that at least a small proportion of fans will be admitted again from September,” Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said at the end of June.

Union Berlin are looking into playing home games in front of a full house when the 2020/21 campaign starts in Germany on September 18th.

Union want club employees tested and for all 22,000 ticket holders for each home game to produce a negative test for COVID-19 within 24 hours of kick-off.

However, Union's plans have already been criticised and a leading virologist dubbed it “irresponsible”.

“Until we have a vaccine, there won't be a full stadium,” Ulf Dittmer, director of virology at the University Hospital in Essen told newspaper WAZ.

Dittmer worries despite a negative test, someone could still be “infectious one day later in the stadium” and spread the virus on packed terraces.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
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

SHOW COMMENTS