Corona Ticker: Federal Administrative Court examines the legitimacy of corona measures

News about Corona from May 10, 2023

Federal Administrative Court examines the legality of Corona-Measures

Wednesday May 10 at 6:46 p.m The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig is hearing this Thursday (beginning: 10 a.m.) on the legality of pandemic measures in autumn 2020. Specifically, it is about two corona protection regulations from Saarland and Saxony, with which the closure of restaurants, among other things, was ordered . The plaintiffs operate restaurants and a hotel and conference center.

In the previous instance, the higher administrative courts had decided differently. The Saxon Higher Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit. The regulation is not a disproportionate encroachment on professional freedom, and less drastic measures to protect vulnerable groups were not available.

The Saarland Higher Administrative Court, on the other hand, had agreed with the plaintiffs. The Corona Protection Ordinance was not based on a sufficient legal basis. The Infection Protection Act in the version at that time was not sufficient. Federal lawmakers only changed it in November 2020.

So far, nine people have had their corona fines back

Sunday, May 7, 10:24 a.m.: Of 348 applications for reimbursement of corona fines in Bavaria, only 9 have been successful so far. As the Bavarian Ministry of Health announced at the request of the German Press Agency, 142 applications were rejected by May 2nd. The rest is still in progress.

The main reason why so many applications were rejected is that people only get the fines back if they left the apartment during the first corona lockdown, for example to go for a walk alone or with members of their own household, and were prosecuted for it. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig had declared the corresponding rules in the exit restrictions from April 1 to 19, 2020 in Bavaria to be disproportionate and ineffective.

During this period, around 22,000 fines were imposed across Bavaria for violating the exit restrictions – but only a small part of them because those affected left their homes “to stay outdoors alone or with members of their own household,” according to the Ministry of Health formulated. For example, anyone who met people from other households and therefore had to pay fines cannot hope for a refund. The Federal Administrative Court did not object to this rule.

The ministry spokesman could not say whether the money had already reached those affected in the nine approved cases. The counties and the urban districts are responsible for this. “We assume that the repayment will be made quickly,” said the spokesman.

Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) emphasized that the repayment procedure was “designed to be as citizen-friendly and simple as possible”. Those affected only have to send an informal letter, for example an e-mail, to the respective district office or city administration and attach a copy of the fine notice or a court decision.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Health does not assume that significantly more Bavarians will reclaim corona fines. “Those affected have been able to submit applications for around two months,” said the ministry spokesman. So far, however, the number of applications has been “within a manageable range”. There are currently no indications “that this could change significantly in the foreseeable future”.

Corona worries accompany Giro start – Kämna wants to be in the top ten

Saturday, May 06, 09:37: The 106th Giro d’Italia starts on Saturday with some corona worries. Shortly before the opening time trial over 19.6 kilometers from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona, several professional cyclists were out due to corona infections, including three helpers from cycling star Primoz Roglic. The Slovenian and World Champion Remco Evenepoel from Belgium are going into the race as favorites for overall victory. The German hopes rest on the former Junior World Champion Lennard Kämna, who is tackling the overall ranking in a Grand Tour for the first time and wants to finish in the top ten.

Lesson learned from mask deals: opposition calls for anti-corruption offensive

Friday, May 5, 2:56 p.m.: As a consequence of the controversial mask deals during the corona pandemic, the SPD, Greens and FDP are calling for an anti-corruption offensive and a transparency offensive in the Bavarian state government. “The internal audits must be increased so that the anti-corruption guidelines can also be filled with life,” said the vice-chairman of the mask committee, Florian Siekmann (Greens) on Friday in Munich. In the future, there will need to be more sensitivity to business offers if these are communicated via political channels. The final debate on the committee is expected to take place in the plenum on May 23.

The conclusion of the SPD, Greens and FDP on the extensive work-up in the committee of inquiry is in clear contrast to the arguments of the state government and also the government factions of the CSU and Free Voters. “The CSU mask deals should never have been completed. But in the middle of the crisis, the Amigo system of the Söder government blossomed – made possible by long-standing CSU structures,” was the summary of the three opposition factions.

The committee’s particular aim was to clarify the state government’s mask business in the corona pandemic, possible involvement of politicians and sometimes high commission payments to MPs – with the commissions coming from the companies involved. In the past few months, the committee had met for around 240 hours, evaluating 150 witness statements and two million pages of files.

Hamburg pays Corona-Catch-up measures continue – opposition demands more

Thursday, May 4, 7:45 p.m.: After the end of federal funding for the Corona catch-up program in schools, Hamburg wants to continue financing some central measures. Starting next year, an additional three million euros will be made available annually for this purpose. The focus is on supporting schools with a particularly large number of students from social problems, said School Senator Ties Rabe (SPD) on Thursday. Seven particularly affected schools are to continue to receive additional funds.

Other central support measures are additional learning courses in the afternoon or during the Hamburg learning holidays and the mentoring program “Connection” for fourth graders, as well as improved support and counseling services for children and young people in psychological distress.

As part of the “Catching up after Corona” action program, Hamburg received 32 million euros from the federal government over two and a half years to counteract learning deficits and psychosocial stress among schoolchildren. In the same period, the city provided 170 million euros from state funds for the funding programs, said Rabe. “More than 70,000 Hamburg schoolchildren have also benefited from this.”

The funding from state funds will now be increased to around 178 million for two and a half years when the federal program expires next year, said Rabe. “We hope to help ensure that there are no funding gaps.”

The senator was disappointed that a follow-up solution announced by the federal government was “not yet in sight”. “We hope that the federal government will still get the curve and finally get the so-called start-up opportunities program up and running.”

The CDU in the citizenship also sees it as “a sign of poverty that the traffic light government in Berlin has discontinued the successful federal program,” as their education policy spokeswoman Birgit Stöver said. It is gratifying that elements of it are being continued with state funds. “Nevertheless, the measures taken by Senator Rabe fall short. Pupils in the third grade still fall through the cracks.” Here, learning deficits have to be caught up in good time before the transfer to secondary school.

Sabine Boeddinghaus, education expert for the Left Group, praised the continued funding of individual measures. Overall, however, the state program remains “another ineffective patch in the patchwork of additional measures.” In order to support the educational path of young people, “the school authorities would have to change course towards inclusive and permanent support that also fits the respective school programs,” she demanded .

Aid to mitigate the consequences of a “catastrophic corona policy” by the red-green Senate is important, the AfD said. “In doing so, of all people, those who have become direct victims of this policy are excluded,” said the health policy spokesman for the parliamentary group, Thomas Reich, and called for sustained support for those damaged by vaccination.

state initiative Corona– Stress in children and adolescents

Wednesday, May 03, 11:59 a.m.: Together with the health insurance companies and other partners, the state government wants to make it easier for children and young people with mental and other health problems to access treatment and advice. The containment measures against the corona pandemic had hit the youngest particularly hard, said Health Minister Ursula Nonnemacher (Greens) on Wednesday at the start of the state initiative “Child Welfare in View”. And this applies in particular to children and young people in socially tense conditions and cramped apartments.

Therefore, the actors of the network in day-care centers, schools and family centers want to do more health education again. This also includes the topic of healthy nutrition, which is conveyed, for example, with children’s theater or gardening together in the day-care center garden. Cooperation with the youth welfare service, which looks after families in difficult circumstances, is also to be further expanded.

Daniela Teichert, Chairwoman of the Board of AOK Nordost, emphasized that it is not just about putting children and young people in therapy. It can also help to give the children access to sports clubs. The offers for health care and treatment should be accessible without major hurdles.

The minister referred to a nationwide study on the psychological consequences of the corona pandemic (Copsy): According to this, almost three quarters of the children and young people surveyed in Brandenburg found the changes resulting from the corona pandemic stressful. Almost 37 percent showed signs of an anxiety disorder and one in five showed symptoms of depression.

EU health authority draws lessons from the corona pandemic

Tuesday, May 02, 2023, 8:00 p.m.: The EU health authority ECDC draws a number of insights from the protracted corona pandemic. To enable countries to better prepare for future pandemics or other emergencies, the Stockholm-based authority identified four areas where lessons can be learned from the Corona period. These include the benefits of investing in the health workforce, better preparedness for the next health crisis, risk communication and community engagement, and data collection and analysis, according to an ECDC report published on Tuesday.

All these areas are closely linked, stressed the ECDC. As the pandemic moves towards a phase of reduced intensity, the report aims to highlight follow-up actions that could contribute to improved pandemic preparedness in Europe.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us valuable lessons and it is important to review and evaluate our actions to see what has worked and what has not,” said ECDC Germany Director Andrea Ammon. There is a need to be better prepared for future health crises, for example by strengthening the health workforce, better surveillance of infectious diseases and promoting cooperation between organizations, countries and regions.

The Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus reached Europe at the beginning of 2020 and then spread extremely quickly. Numerous countries initially reacted with significant restrictions on public life and the closure of their borders. Thanks to the record-breaking development of corona vaccines, it was ultimately possible to largely push back the virus in 2022.

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