Wednesday's Berlin corona news in 60 seconds
+++ Easing restrictions +++ No normal school +++ Low incidences +++
The latest corona stats for Berlin (tallied Wednesday, 19 May)
Berliners vaccinated with one vaccine dose: 34.3 per cent (33.8 Monday)
New cases in one day: +382 (+370 Tuesday)
Total number of corona deaths: 3,412 (+9)
🟢 R number: 0.70 (0.81 Tuesday)
🔴 New infections per week: 61.5/100,000 inhabitants (63.3 Tuesday)
🟡 Share of Berlin ICUs occupied by Covid-19 patients: 19.1 per cent (20 per cent Tuesday)
Sources: Berlin's coronavirus status page, impfdashboard.de
The latest news
Even fewer restrictions
Politicians Tuesday opened the door to even fewer restrictions with two stages of additional easing planned for 4 and 18 June. We've got the deets here but it essentially allows for re-opening large swaths of life shuttered for months. That is, if the incidence (new cases per 100,000 people per week) stays under 100 or continues to fall.
No regular classes until next year
The education department late Tuesday rejected a request from the environmetal Die Grüne party to return schools to regular schedules before summer break starts 22 June. Students and teachers needs to see a light at the end of the tunnel too, the party argued. Education officials said there is no time to organise a return in the next month - students are currently in hybrid schooling with half online and half in-person classes. The 2021-2022 school year could be different, however.
Below 50, even
Only 1 of the country's 16 states now has an incidence over 100 - Thuringia at 115.3, according to the Robert Koch Institute. Three have slipped below 50 - the northern states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lower Saxony.
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