Status: 03/21/2021 12:20 p.m.
In the live ticker, NDR.de will also inform you today – on Sunday, March 21, 2021 – about the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg.
The essentials in brief:
- Bund-Länder meetings: no general opening planned
- Stricter entry rules Poland – Commuters ask for financial help
- Hospitality in MV hopes for Easter opening
- Nationwide incidence is again over 100
- New infections: 1,196 in Lower Saxony, 305 in Schleswig-Holstein, 170 in Hamburg, 13,733 nationwide
Tables and graphics: This is how the vaccination campaign in the north works
Map: New infections in the northern German districts
12:20 p.m.
170 new infections in Hamburg
According to the Hamburg social authority, 170 new corona cases have been registered today. That is 24 less than last Sunday. Yesterday 336 new infections were reported. The numbers are usually lower on Sundays and Mondays because there is less testing on the weekend and there is a delay in reporting. The number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days is 114. Five people died with the virus. In the Hamburg clinics, 90 people with Covid-19 are in intensive care.
12:12 pm
Because: Lifting the travel warning for Mallorca was a “serious mistake”
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) wants another travel warning for Mallorca to be issued. He described the cancellation to the “RedaktionsNetzwerk” as a serious mistake. “The infection process on Mallorca may still be uncritical, but when people from all over Europe come together on the island over Easter, we immediately have a new hotspot again.” There should be compulsory testing or quarantine for returnees. In addition, if Mallorca is possible, holiday apartments and houses in Germany must also be bookable, says Weil.
Further information
12:01 p.m.
Draft for federal-state meetings: model regions and aid for tourism?
According to the news agency Agence France Presse (AFP), the Bundeskanlzeramt wants to continue the corona measures until April. An exact date is not given in the draft resolution for tomorrow’s federal-state meeting. The draft does not provide for any general new opening steps – however, it refers to the “strong infection process and an exponential dynamic”. However, it should be made possible for countries and regions to start “temporary model projects” in order to “open up individual areas of public life with strict protective measures and a test concept”. The draft also considers making it possible for citizens to travel to their own federal state according to the principle of “low-contact vacation”. Prerequisites are the “observance of the applicable contact restrictions, strict hygiene requirements and the implementation of a test regime”. This passage in the draft is, however, placed in square brackets; this means that there is still a need for coordination between the federal and state governments. In the proposal, the Chancellery also proposes additional aid programs for tourism. This special program could be started if opening at Easter is not possible due to high numbers of infections.
10:52 a.m.
1,196 new infections in Lower Saxony
The Lower Saxony State Health Office reports 1,196 new infections with the corona virus. That is 85 more than last Sunday. Three people died from the virus. The seven-day incidence per 100,000 population rises to 94.9.
10:52 a.m.
KVH: Hamburg could be largely vaccinated in August
According to the Hamburg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVH), the residents of the Hanseatic city could largely be vaccinated by the end of the summer. “If things go well, the family doctors are soon involved and enough vaccine comes, we could be through with the worst in July or August,” said KVH CEO Walter Plassmann the “Hamburger Abendblatt”. KVH operates the vaccination center in the Hamburg exhibition halls, where 7,000 people can be vaccinated every day. Hamburg’s mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) wanted to work a shift there today to get a better picture of the situation. Before taking up his post, Tschentscher was a laboratory doctor at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).
10:10 am
The hospitality industry is looking forward to federal-state consultations
Entrepreneurs in the hotel and hospitality industry in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are hoping for signals for opening steps from tomorrow’s federal-state summit. “We hope that this hope can then really be backed up with real projects and plans,” said the managing director of the regional tourism association, Tobias Woitendorf. In many companies, the time for preparations is running out, as the Easter holidays start in one week and companies usually need two weeks of preparation. Woitendorf repeated the possibility that the tourism states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania could go their own way together if no prospects were opened up tomorrow. The existing aid would not be enough without an opening at Easter. “There has to be a clear opening perspective with a test strategy,” said the President of Dehoga Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lars Schwarz. He called for a break with the rigid incidence regulations. The closings now in the 21st week are no longer bearable: “Entire industries are being sacrificed.” A good third of the companies are currently dealing with the end of their business activity.
Further information
09:28 am
Polish commuters hope for reimbursement
After the federal government declared Poland a high incidence area due to the high number of corona infections, commuters from the neighboring country are demanding financial help to cover the test costs. “The German side should find a solution in which the people concerned do not have to pay anything for the tests,” said Bartosz Marosz from the citizens’ initiative “Free Borders – Wolne Granice”. The new requirement for frequent tests means an additional financial burden for commuters. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has set up test centers at the border crossings in Linken and Ahlbeck since mid-March. The fee for a corona test is ten euros for commuters and 20 euros for everyone else. The test may have been carried out at the earliest 48 hours before entry.
8:47 am
Nationwide seven-day incidence rises to 103.9
The Robert Koch Institute has registered 13,733 new corona infections. On Sunday a week ago it was 10,790. The reported numbers are usually lower on Sundays and Mondays because there is less testing on the weekend and reports are registered with a delay. An additional 99 people died with the virus. The nationwide seven-day incidence exceeded the threshold of 100 for the first time since the end of January – and rose to 103.9. However, it initially has no consequences. The respective incidence in individual regions of Germany is decisive for lifting the relaxation of the corona measures.
7:52 am
Family doctor vaccination necessary to reach everyone over 80 years of age
Many over 80-year-olds are waiting for their family doctor to vaccinate them, says Anke Richter-Scheer from the Federal Association of Family Physicians. The number of vaccine doses, however, is too small, she thinks. “It’s a drop in the ocean. We want more vaccine doses.” In order to reach vulnerable groups, general practitioners are particularly important.
AUDIO: Over 80-year-olds wait for a vaccination from their family doctor (4 min)
6:20 am
Poland is a high incidence area
Due to the sharp rise in the number of corona infections, Poland has been recognized by the federal government as Classified high incidence area. Entry from the country bordering Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is only allowed with a negative corona test. Cross-border commuters should submit a negative corona test every 48 hours. Previously, the test could be up to four days old. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Kuwait, Paraguay and Uruguay are also on the list of high incidence areas from today. For the previous virus variant areas Great Britain and Ireland, however, the travel restrictions will be significantly relaxed. The quarantine and compulsory testing for another popular holiday area for Germans will be lifted completely: the Portuguese Algarve. However, the hotels there are currently not allowed to accept tourists.
6:10 am
How the Hamburg culture reacts to the “emergency brake”
The Corona “emergency brake”, which has been in place since yesterday, is a shock for Hamburg’s cultural scene. What ways are in sight?
VIDEO: Lockdown: Culture takes a step back again (3 min)
6:10 am
Schleswig-Holstein: Incidence value rises to 59.4
The seven-day incidence in Schleswig-Holstein has continued to rise. The number of new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days is now 59.4 – the day before it was 58.3. This emerges from the latest data from the Ministry of Health in Kiel. The number of reported new infections was 305. The number of deaths rose by one to 1,405. 185 corona patients were treated in the hospital, 48 of them intensive care and 30 of them ventilated.
06:08 am
Corona ticker starts on Sunday
The NDR.de team wishes a good morning. On Sunday, March 21, we will keep you up to date on the effects of the corona pandemic in northern Germany. In the live ticker you will find all the important news and also content from the NDR radio and television programs.
The confirmed new corona infections in the north from Saturday: 1,419 in Lower Saxony, 336 in Hamburg, 276 in Schleswig-Holstein, 234 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and 109 in the state of Bremen.
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