Monitoring of compulsory mask wearing unclear Sridharan: Bonn is doing well in the Corona crisis
Bonn · Since the beginning of the corona crisis, the city of Bonn has registered 583 infected persons so far. 397 Bonn citizens have recovered in the meantime. The number of deaths has risen to six. It is still unclear how the compulsory wearing of masks, which will be in effect as of Monday, will be controlled.
Who is to control and punish the mandatory wearing of masks in retail stores and public transportation, which will be in effect nationwide starting next Monday? The representatives of the city administration on Wednesday did not know either exactly how this would be done. According to Bonn's mayor Ashok Sridharan, he says that he assumes that business owners will make use of their house rules with regard to protective masks. The Lord Mayor was visibly satisfied that the state government has now decided to take the step that he and other city leaders had been demanding for days.
Now the citizens would still have time to obtain such mouth and nose protectors. However, there will be no issue of masks by the city. Until Monday, Mayor Sridharan asks citizens to cover their mouths and noses on public transport and when shopping in retail stores. In addition, according to the state, from 27 April, shops that can reduce their sales area to a maximum of 800 square metres of retail space will also be allowed to open.
Sridharan told the Bonners that it was now important to continue to observe the restrictions in force. Because in this way the positive trend will continue. Although the Lord Mayor had to announce the death of another Bonn citizen on Wednesday due to the corona virus, he did not want to miss out on the opportunity to take the next step. The 71-year-old person had suffered from severe pre-existing conditions and had refused intensive medical care. At the same time Sridharan announced that the number of Bonn citizens acutely infected with the corona virus had decreased by 31 people from Tuesday to Wednesday - to 180.
The Lord Mayor also had good news for the approximately 20,000 families in Bonn who pay fees for open all-day primary schools (OGS) or kindergarten fees for the care of their children: The city wants to refund them for the month of May. A corresponding emergency decision is in preparation, it will cost the city of Bonn around 2.5 million euros.
The greatest effort of the city employees during the past few days has been the preparation for the start of school in numerous secondary schools this Thursday. It was not only the backs of tables and chairs that proved challenging, but also the news situation, which was confusing even for administrative experts. The past few days have been "as exciting as a crime thriller", said Carolin Krause, head of the school department, with regard to the amount of constantly updated information from federal and state levels.
As Krause and Lutz Leide, head of the Municipal Building Management (SGB), explained, the schools have been and are being thoroughly cleaned, and this continues to happen daily in classrooms and corridors. Special attention was paid to "hand contact surfaces" such as table tops, chairs, door handles, taps, keyboards and the PC mouse. As a rule, it is sufficient for the students to wash their hands with soap. Nevertheless, the fire brigade, school authorities and SGB provide the schools with around 1500 bottles of disinfectant - filled in Bonn and with specially printed labels. By the way, there is no obligation to wear masks in schools.
Rhein-Sieg-Kreis numbers consistent
The corona case numbers in the Rhein-Sieg district continue to rise very slowly. On Wednesday, the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis reported only six new confirmed infections with Sars-CoV-2, a total of 1106 so far. 288 persons are counted as current cases, 783 have recovered. The number of deaths increased by one person from Bornheim to 35. The figures by commune: Alfter (1), Bad Honnef (1), Bornheim (3), Eitorf (3), Lohmar (2), Meckenheim (2), Much (1), Niederkassel (1), Rheinbach (1), Sankt Augustin (15), Swisttal (2), Troisdorf (2) and Windeck (1).
For the municipalities, the district indicates the total number of confirmed corona cases and the number of people currently infected. Here is the status of Wednesday, 5 pm: Alfter (confirmed cases 58/currently 10), Bad Honnef (68/8), Bornheim (101/31), Eitorf (43/13), Hennef (70/11), Königswinter (82/36), Lohmar (70/22), Meckenheim (61/6), Much (22/2), Neunkirchen-Seelscheid (29/5), Niederkassel (36/5), Rheinbach (53/18), Ruppichteroth (10/0), Sankt Augustin (139/53), Siegburg (76/12), Swisttal (28/6), Troisdorf (105/23), Wachtberg (32/10), Windeck (23/16).
Original text: GA Bonn
Translation: Mareike Graepel
