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FOOTBALL

German football fans hopes dampened as coronavirus cases rise

Bundesliga clubs had their hopes dampened on Monday of a partial return of football fans in stadiums when the new league season kicks off in Germany on September 18th.

German football fans hopes dampened as coronavirus cases rise
An empty football stadium in Stuttgart on Monday. Photo: DPA

Last week, the 36 clubs in Germany's top two tiers agreed to a four-point proposal by the German Football League (DFL) which could see fans return to stadiums despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Clubs agreed to sell personalised tickets to track spectators, no away fans for the rest of 2020, no alcohol allowed until October and fans seated only, with terraces to remain empty.

The plans, however, must first be approved by the German government.

READ ALSO: Bundesliga: How Germany plans for football fans to return to the stadium in September

Politician Dilek Kalayci, chairman of the conference of Germany's health ministers which met Monday, poured cold water on the league's hopes.

“We do not intend to pass a resolution on the DFL's hygiene concept,” Kalayci told newspaper Berliner Morgenpost before the conference.

“Professional football is not at the top of the health ministers' priority list.”

Germany's top flight clubs lose several million euros in lost match revenue for every home game played behind closed doors.

However, the number of the coronavirus are rising slightly in Germany with 436 new cases in the last 24 hours and a total of around 9,000 deaths.

In total, Germany had had a total of 217,322 coronavirus case, and 197,218 reported recoveries, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

The final nine rounds of league matches last season were all played behind closed doors.

A football match in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia on June 16th with the sign “Football without fans is nothing!” Photo: DPA

Frizt Keller, the president of the German FA, has raised the idea of mass testing of spectators next season, but Kalayci torpedoed the idea.

“The idea that, among other things, all fans in stadiums could be tested is viewed critically by the majority of ministers,” Kalayci added.

“Especially because before and after the game, no one can exclude and control large crowds of people and alcohol consumption.

“We currently need the testing capacity in many other areas – for example, schools, daycare centres, nursing homes, hospitals and people returning from travel.”

READ ALSO: 'Don't show up at the stadium': German fans warned ahead of Bundesliga restart

Meanwhile, the Marburger Bund, the association and trade union for doctors in Germany, also warned against a return of fans to the stadiums.

“The danger of a mass infection would be real,” chairperson Susanne Johna told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper.

“If we are unlucky, a 'superspreader' would sit among the fans and the virus will spread like wildfire.

“Someone may not have any symptoms at all yet, but still his throat is already full of the virus.

“And with the shouting and cheering (at a game), it (further infections) can happen in a flash.”

READ ALSO: 'Target clusters and superspreaders': Here's how Germany could prevent a second coronavirus wave

Johna says she has sympathy for the league's attempts to bring spectators back, “but the fact that their concept would prevent infections is unrealistic, in my opinion”.

She doubts fans can be expected to keep their distance during matches, because when a goal is scored, “you hug each other and don't think of corona”.

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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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