Island of Bliss

In Germany's southwest, Freiburg and its surroundings remain below an incidence rate of 100 covid cases per 100,000 people.

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If you look at the map, it is an island if you englobe neighboring France. Regarding German corona restrictions only, Red Baron lives on a blessed peninsula.

©Der Tagesspiegel

Above an incidence rate of 100, a "federal emergency brake" grips from yesterday night on.

Parliament (Bundestag) and Senate (Bundesrat) tightened and revised the Federal Infection Protection Law in an expedited proceeding. Grudgingly, in a special session last Thursday, the Senate voted in favor.

The governor of Hesse, Volker Bouffier (CDU),  said, "The law represents the deepest cuts in fundamental rights that have ever existed."

Concluding the session, the governor of Saxony-Anhalt and the present president of the Senate, Reiner Haseloff (CDU),  sharply criticized the shift of responsibility in a pandemic to the federal government by the amended Infection Protection Act. "Today is a low point in the federal culture of the Federal Republic of Germany," said Haseloff. "The legislative initiative and the discussions to justify have inflicted damage on the cooperative federalism we have successfully lived for decades. That won't be easy to heal."

However, given the third wave of covid infections infesting Germany, time is of the essence. The Federal President signed the law last Thursday evening.

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The covid situation remains tense.

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The available number of intensive care places in hospitals is not limited by the number of ventilators but by the availability of capable nursing staff.

©Der Tagesspiegel

Within the third wave, the age distribution of covid-stricken persons has changed. While during the second wave, the age group from 80 to 90+ needed intensive care, now persons from 15 to 60 are the most infected group. Old people, including Red Baron, are vaccinated, but the younger cohort shows more severe disease progression and a need for longtime intensive care.

Last night, the "federal emergency brake" came into force in 325 of 401 German counties and cities, with a seven-day incidence of more than 100 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past three days. Key measures include nighttime curfew restrictions, contact and shopping restrictions, and federal rules for schools and daycares:

Curfew restrictions: If the number of reported new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in a county or city exceeds 100 for three days in a row within seven days, people will not be allowed to leave their homes after 10 p.m. There are exceptions to this rule: Walking and jogging alone, for example, are permitted until midnight, and driving to work or home from work is possible. Those in need of medical assistance can, of course, get out as well.

Meetings: Likewise, if the seven-day incidence exceeds 100 for more than three days, no more than one household may meet with another person, excluding children 14 and younger.

Shopping: Up to an incidence of 150 for three consecutive days, stores may only offer shopping by appointment or "click and meet" and only to customers who present a negative Corona test. If the incidence exceeds 150, only "click and collect" is possible.

Schools and daycare centers: If the seven-day incidence exceeds the threshold of 100 for three consecutive days, alternate instruction becomes mandatory from the day after the next. If the incidence exceeds 165, attendance classes are prohibited from the day after the next, and regular care in daycare centers is not permitted. Graduating classes are exempt.

Home office: Employers must continue to offer the home office if possible, and employees must take up the offer if reasonable.

The updated Infection Protection Law leaves it up to the federal states to lay down additional, mostly stricter rules.

In the meantime, opposition parties, groups, and individuals sent more than thirty emergency appeals to the Federal Constitutional Court (Germany's Supreme Court) to declare, in particular, the curfew as an "authoritarian state" regulation and, therefore, as unconstitutional.

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Freiburg presently has an incidence rate of 96. Red Baron keeps his fingers crossed that the number will stay below 100. In case of exceeding the mark during three consecutive days, Kieser must close. I still keep a prescription in my wallet worth ten sessions of machine-supported physiotherapy at an authorized medical center for such an emergency.

Breaking news: Tonight, Freiburg passed the limit of 100 and is at 103.8. Red Baron's hopes are zerstoben (dispersed)!

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