Friday's Berlin corona news in 60 seconds
+++ Vaccinations for all +++ India traveller dies +++ Test centre crackdown +++ The stats +++
The latest corona stats for Berlin (tallied Friday, 4 June)
Berliners vaccinated with one vaccine dose: 43.3 per cent (42.4 per cent Thursday)
Berliners fully vaccinated: 19 per cent (18.4 Thursday)
New cases in one day: +182 (+192 Thursday)
Total number of corona deaths: 3,502 (+3)
🟢 R number: 0.85 (0.84 Thursday)
🟡 New infections per week: 28.7/100,000 inhabitants (31.4 Thursday)
🟢 Share of Berlin ICUs occupied by Covid-19 patients: 11.7 per cent (11.6 per cent Thursday)
Sources: Berlin's coronavirus status page
The latest news
Vaccination appointments open to all Monday
From Monday next week, anyone who wants a Covid-19 vaccination will be able to book a date at Berlin's six vaccination centres for their first jab. Theorectically, at least. Berlin is still short on vaccine. "I have to ask Berliners to be patient, because at the moment the demand for vaccination appointments is even greater than the availability of the vaccine," said state health miniser Dilek Kalayci on Thursday. Appointments can be booked online. Anecdotal evidence suggests people have better luck scoring a date via the hotline: 030 9028 – 2200 (open daily 7am-6pm). Alternatively, ask your GP (Hausartz) to vaccinate you.
Man dies upon return from India
A 30-year-old Dresden student died of Covid-19 shortly after returning from a trip to India, Bild reported Thursday. He tested positive for coronavirus upon entering Germany, but was symptom-free. Roughly a day later, his condition worsened, followed by his death. Dresden authorities believe he was infected by a variant of the virus. The entire high-rise student residence where he lived has been put under strict quarantine.
Test centre crackdown continues
Neukölln's district administration says it will inspect all 170 corona test centres registered in the burough to weed out the "black sheep", as Neukölln district councillor for health affairs, Falko Liecke (CDU), put it. So far, five centres have been shuttered due to irregularities such as incorrectly conducted tests and poor hygiene. Berlin-wide, police have charged 12 operators with billing fraud, i.e. overcharging the government for tests. About 1,500 centres are in operation across the city.
In case you missed it ...
Germany is a renewal energy champion, right? Maybe not. Subsidies are being phased out and thousands of wind turbines could be shut down.
Sign up for our weekly Ze Newsletter to keep informed with minimal Denglisch.