The Geocaching meets Beethoven event in Bad Godesberg went ahead as planned on Saturday morning. Over 1000 participants were expected at the Stadthalle. According to Jens Decke who is on the executive committee of the Geocaching meets Beethoven association, only a few participants and contributors had cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus.

The coronavirus hasa lso had an effect on some sporting events in the region. Two handball games for the HSG Siebengebirge club were cancelled and have been postponed to a later date (the home game against BTB Aachen and the away game against Stolberger SV), however this was due to the situation in Aachen and not Bonn. All other matches at the weekend - home and away - are to take place as planned according to the current situation. The cancellations are purely a precautionary measure.

A confirmation event for 650 confirmands from local towns and villages took place on Saturday in the Kardinal-Frings-Gymnasium. Here the coronavirus also overshadowed the day. "We are aware of the seriousness, especially as we have hundreds of participants here and also bear a great responsibility", said the organiser Daniela Ossowski. However, the groups came voluntarily, according to the management. A group of ten people did not attend due to concerns about the virus. Ossowski explained that after consulting the managing directors, the decision was made to hold the event. "We kept a close eye on the media and authorities and observed how the situation developed," she reports. "Today, before the service, we pointed out the risks and explained hygiene measures to the participants and asked them to observe them." In addition, the hygiene regulations were also displayed in the church. "This includes washing our hands thoroughly and not getting too close." Instead of a handshake, the peace greeting in the service was practiced with a gentle nod. "The young people themselves were relatively relaxed. None of them have asked if it is possible to be infected here", said Ossowski.

The coronavirus was also mentioned at the "B9Flashed Flashmob" which took place on Saturday lunchtime on the Münsterplatz in the city centre. Susanne König, head of the municipal cultural office, drew the participants' attention to the corona case in Bonn, but immediately gave an all-clear signal: "I think we can organize the flashmob without any problems as we are outside in the open air. But as a precaution we have informed people about the residual risk of mass events." The commission which convened to deal with the virus had given the okay for the flash mob. News of the first incident in Bonn spread quickly among the choir groups. But the 100 singers were not intimidated and "Ode to Joy" was sung with enthusiasm.

Major events are currently being cancelled all over the world to try to slow down the spread of the virus. Most recently, France announced on Saturday afternoon that it would ban events with more than 5000 people.

The original German article was published at 8.30pm on 29^th February and will be updated as necessary.

(Original text: Andreas Dyck and Niklas Schröder, Translation: Caroline Kusch)