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EXPLAINED: How you can visit a bar in Berlin from Friday

Berlin bars will be allowed to welcome guests again starting on Friday - one of several openings to take place in the capital in the coming days and weeks.

Published: 19 May 2021 13:35 CEST
EXPLAINED: How you can visit a bar in Berlin from Friday
A Berlin bartender in October. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christophe Gateau

The outdoor areas of cafes and restaurants are also allowed to open on Friday May 21st, Finance Senator Matthias Kollatz (SPD) announced on Tuesday after a Senate meeting.

Guests must show a negative Covid test result from the last 24 hours – or prove that they have been fully vaccinated or recovered from a coronavirus infection. Free rapid tests are offered at multiple locations around the capital. They will also be required to leave their contact information, usually through the luca App.

READ ALSO: How do you prove that you’ve been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 in Germany?

In order to avoid large gatherings, bar-goers will also be required to sit down at one spot during their visit. Up to five people from two households will be allowed.

“Please do not form clusters of people, sit down somewhere in the respective small group, and then everything is good,” said Kollatz.

The rules on the sale of beer, wine and other alcohol will be relaxed only slightly: Until now, it was forbidden to serve or sell alcoholic beverages in Berlin after 10pm. In future, the ban will apply between 11pm and 5am.

Kollatz justified sticking to this restriction by saying that the sale of alcohol favours crowds – which increases the risk of coronavirus infections.

On Wednesday Berlin had a 7-day incidence of 61.5 new infections per 100,000 people in the population, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). This marks the seventh day in a row that the capital has reported infections below the critical value of 100.

If numbers remain below this value, the Berlin Senate is also allowing the inner areas of bars, restaurants and cafes to open on June 18th, provided that guests make a reservation and show a test (or proof of vaccination or recovery). A limited number of customers will also be allowed at a time.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The rules in Germany on outdoor dining

Further openings

On Wednesday May 19th Berlin also allowed for several other parts of public life to reopen after months of closures.

Outdoor theatres, cinemas and concert houses were allowed to reopen, also with a test requirement and a cap of no more than 250 guests at a time.

On Friday, 11 outdoor swimming pools will initially reopen to those who have a test and make a reservation. Children up to 12 years old will be allowed to swim for free during the summer holidays.

Shopping is also possible again without making an appointment in advance.

Several other openings are also coming up in the capital, such as fitness and dance studios, and the inner areas of zoos and botanical gardens, on June 4th.

Provided that coronavirus numbers stay low, hotels will also be allowed to rewelcome overnight guests starting on June 18th.

READ ALSO: Outdoor dining and swimming pools: How Berlin plans to reopen in May

Mandatory tests will continue to apply for all these venues. 

As with the rest of Germany, Berlin has been in a lockdown since the beginning of November, which have seen cafes, restaurants and bars – except for pick-ups and takeaways – close. 

Furthermore, most cultural and sport venues have also shut their doors, and have slowly been reopening over the last two months as infection numbers drop and the country’s vaccine campaign picks up speed. Kitas (daycare centres) also reopened on Monday.

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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?

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

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