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NEW: Bavaria to reopen pubs and ditch Autobahn test centres

The southern German state is set to get rid of several test centres, enforce new face mask rules and allow bars and pubs to reopen fully after the coronavirus shutdown.

NEW: Bavaria to reopen pubs and ditch Autobahn test centres
Bavarian premier Markus Söder on Tuesday. Photo: DPA

State premier Markus Söder, of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of Angela Merkel's CDU, announced on Tuesday that the state will scrap the coronavirus test centres on motorways at the border, as well as in Munich and Nuremberg train stations.

According to the cabinet, testing capacity that becomes free will instead be diverted “on demand” to other test centres such as those in districts and cities. 

However, the test stations at Munich, Nuremberg and Memmingen airports will remain in place.

The test hubs earmarked for closure will shut by the end of the summer travel season on September 30th.

It comes after repeated complaints about delays in getting coronavirus test results. Bavaria came under fire when it emerged in mid-August around 44,000 out of 85,000 people hadn't yet been told of their results over a week after being tested.

Among the results were at least 900 positive tests. The state government said that problems with the manual input of data and a high uptake of the service was to blame for the delay.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Bavaria's testing fiasco

'Over five days to get our test results'

The Local Germany reader Scott McLaughlin, based in Munich, told how he had to wait more than five days to get results for him and his family after a roadside test. Authorities had reassured him that test results would be available in one to two days.

The family was returning from the south of France, which became a high risk zone at the end of August while they were still there.

“There were no testing facilities along the A96 on our way home to Munich, and we had heard conflicting reports about whether people without a train ticket could be tested at Hauptbahnhof,” McLaughlin told The Local.
 
“So we ended up driving about an hour and a half out of our way to be tested off of the A93 near Brannenburg. While the test itself was easy and we were back on the road in under 20 minutes, it took over five days for us to get our test results.  I've never checked my email as frequently as I did during those five days, awaiting the news that we could be released from our home prison.”
 
McLaughlin and his family were glad to receive negative results.
 
On Tuesday Söder defended the Bavarian testing strategy. “The test strategy was absolutely important and right,” he said.
 
He added that tests would remain free of charge in future.

What else is new in Bavaria?

At outdoor gatherings, compulsory face coverings are to become a regular feature in Bavaria as early as this Wednesday, September 9th. The obligation will take effect with events with 200 people or more, the cabinet decided.

And those who've been missing Kneipe (pub) culture in Bavaria can mark this date in the calendar: from September 19th, bars and pubs will be allowed to open again under strict conditions.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus rules – what's allowed (and what isn't) in Bavaria?

According to the cabinet decision, pubs and bars will have to stick to the same rules as restaurants. In restaurants staff have to get the contact details of customers so they can be informed if there is an outbreak. Face masks are also required when people are away from their table.

In bars, table service will also have to be in force. Clubs, which Söder called “infectious bombs” will have to remain closed.

Up until this point, beer gardens or pubs with outdoor areas have only been allowed to open.

Also from September 19th amateur football and other sporting events can go ahead.

Bavaria has implemented stricter coronavirus rules compared to other states in Germany as it is the region hardest hit by the pandemic.

As of Tuesday there were 59,298 cases reported in the region, with 284 new cases within 24 hours.

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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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