Wednesday's corona news in 60 seconds

The latest corona stats for Berlin (compiled Wednesday, 18 August)

Berliners vaccinated with one vaccine dose: 63.1 per cent (63 per cent Tuesday)

Berliners fully vaccinated: 56.8 per cent (56.5 per cent Tuesday)

New cases in one day: 552 (594 Tuesday)

Total number of corona deaths: 3,587 (0)

🔴 7-day incidence rate - new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week: 69.2 (66.2 Tuesday)

🔴 Development of the 7-day incidence rate over the past week: +53 per cent (+61 per cent Tuesday)

🟢 Share of Berlin ICUs occupied by Covid-19 patients: 5 per cent (3.6 per cent Tuesday)

Source: Berlin's corona information page.

Just get vaccinated, OK?

The Berlin Senat on Tuesday put into law plans to make life more difficult for the unvaccinated throughout Germany. Only people who are vaccinated, tested or recovered (known in German as 3G) can stay inside at restaurants and bars, go to the gym and take part in group events of more than 50 indoors and 100 outside. The rule also applies to visiting hair and nail salons. The key to the law is that testing will no longer be free starting 11 October. However, test results will now be considered valid for 48 rather than 24 hours. 

The Senat also extended the use of masks in schools through 5 September and said it would begin with booster shots. The booster programme will begin just as the vaccination programme did - first at-risk populations then likely everyone else.

Club trial results good

The results of a testing-and-clubbing trial are in and the results are promising: 2,110 people were allowed to party without social distancing or masks in six clubs after testing negative on a PCR test before entry. Seven cases were found during the testing but only four were unknown - the other three were several weeks old and the people had recovered. About 70 per cent of the participants showed up for follow-up testing two weeks later. Though final results aren't yet in, it doesn't look like the trial led to an outbreak. Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!

In case you missed it: Cricket is getting more popular in Berlin.