Daily Host Nation Stories for May 14, 2020 - US Army Garrisons

Daily Host Nation Stories for May 14, 2020

Study: Coronavirus could be transmitted mainly while speaking
According to a new study, the coronavirus could possibly be transmitted mainly when
speaking. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America, shows that micro droplets emitted during speech
can remain in the air for more than ten minutes in a closed room. Given the known
concentration of corona virus in saliva, the scientists assume that every minute of loud speech
can produce more than a thousand virus-contaminated droplets. If the extent of the risk of
infection is confirmed by speaking, this could explain the rapid spread of the virus and at the
same time provide scientific support for recommendations in many countries for wearing face
masks. (Focus, May 13)

Corona Steering Group decides easing restrictions
Visiting sick people, taking children to day-care centers, taking adult education courses: The
Corona Steering Group in Baden-Württemberg has decided to ease on some more
restrictions. According to these, citizens will be allowed to visit patients in hospitals and
nursing homes as of Monday, May 18. "Each patient will then be allowed to visit a maximum
of two people a day," said a statement by the Ministry of State on Wednesday evening.
However, visitors would have to leave personal data for any contact tracking.
Accordingly, Daycare centers will also be allowed to open again with restrictions from
Monday onwards. A maximum of 50 percent of the children who normally attend the
respective day care center are allowed to attend. Children in extended emergency care or with
special needs have priority. Minister of Education Susanne Eisenmann had already
announced the gradual opening of day-care centers.
Apprentices in their first year of training are to be able to resume their vocational training as
of May 18. Gradually, the respective educational institutions will then reopen. Further
education at adult education centers will then also be possible again to a limited extent.
The steering group "SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus)" is the interface between the federal, state
and local governments in Baden-Württemberg. It organizes measures to combat the corona
pandemic. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, May 14)

Kawasaki Syndrome-More and more severe cases in children
After an accumulation of severe inflammation in children, doctors are alarmed. The
coronavirus could be the trigger. One thing is clear: Most children have mild symptoms at
best.

Since the end of April, reports have been making headlines about severe courses of disease in
children infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. French Health Minister Olivier Véran
expressed concern after some 15 children became seriously ill in Paris. The symptoms were
similar to those of the so-called Kawasaki syndrome: inflammation of the blood vessels, fever
lasting for days and skin rash.
His British colleague Matt Hancock had previously described several such cases in children.
Hancock said that the symptoms were apparently caused by an overreaction of the immune
system and could have their origin in the corona virus.
In Italy, Spain and Switzerland, physicians also reported severe inflammation in young
patients. And last weekend, the governor of the US state of New York, Andrew Cuomo,
reported that more than 70 children suffering from severe inflammation were last treated
there. Three of them died. Similar cases have also been reported from other states. However,
it is still unclear whether these diseases are actually related to the corona pandemic. Although
evidence of infection with the virus was found in many of the children, not in all of them.
And Kawasaki's syndrome also occurred before the corona pandemic.
In Germany, about 450 children are affected every year, says Johannes Hübner, Chairman of
the German Society for Pediatric Infectiology and Deputy Director of the Pediatric Clinic at
the University of Munich. And so far the statistics do not show that the number of these
diseases has increased recently.
But doctors around the world have been alarmed since British doctors reported an “unheard-
of accumulation" of such cases in the journal Lancet in early May. Over a period of ten days,
eight children suffered hyperinflammatory shock similar to Kawasaki's syndrome, the doctors
said, adding: "All children were previously healthy and fit.
"We take these reports very seriously," said Reinhard Berner, who, as director of the
children's clinic at the University of Dresden, is on the board of the German Society for Child
and Youth Medicine. He considers it "quite plausible" that an infection with SARS-CoV-2
leads to a kind of Kawasaki syndrome in children.
Although the cause of this clinical picture is still unknown, the syndrome probably develops
because the immune system overreacts to a respiratory infection. Corona viruses have been
considered as possible pathogens for quite some time. However, according to Berner, five
such Kawasaki cases have been registered in Germany in children after infection with SARS-
CoV-2.
The vast majority of children infected with the corona virus have only very mild symptoms.
A total of more than 10,000 SARS-CoV-2 infections in children and adolescents have now
been registered in Germany. It is not known how many more have not even noticed an
infection. According to the Robert Koch Institute, three patients under 20 years of age have
died so far. However, it is not clear whether an overreaction of the immune system occurred
in them. In the USA, where by far the most infections occur, a total of ten children up to the
age of 14 years who were infected with the corona virus had died by May 6th, according to
the CDC health authority. (Ard, May 12)

Operations at Frankfurt Airport almost come to a standstill

Travel restrictions to contain the coronavirus have brought air traffic at Frankfurt Airport
almost to a standstill. In April, Frankfurt Airport recorded a 96.9 percent year-on-year decline
in passenger numbers to 188,078 passengers, the airport operator announced. Nevertheless,
Frankfurt is a major hub in Europe. An average of 218 takeoffs and landings per day took
place. This was by far the largest number of aircraft movements of all European airports.
(Frankfurter Zeitung, May 13)

Spahn: Doubt whether demo dissolution would be "proportional"
Health Minister Jens Spahn has urged the security authorities to be lenient during peaceful
demonstrations in connection with the corona restrictions, even if distance rules are not
observed. "The following applies to all large crowds: anyone who does not observe the rules
of distance endangers himself and others, because that is where the virus spreads more
rapidly. Should a peaceful demonstration therefore be broken up? I have great doubts as to
whether that would be proportionate," Spahn told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. He
said he understood the protests. "I am very aware of how deeply we have encroached on the
liberal rights of citizens. There is a debate about how far and how long print runs in Corona
times go, of course," said Spahn. "It would be very disturbing if this controversy did not
exist."(Ntv, May 13)

Spahn deems immunity card to be necessary
Federal Health Minister Spahn deems immunity card to be necessary, despite of opposition
from the SPD party. Spahn told the "Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland" that more attention
will have to be paid to the question "which restrictions will apply for whom and when".
"Other States are already planning to make entry into Germany dependent on such a proof of
immunity in the future," Spahn emphasized. "After all, the solution cannot be that our
citizens can no longer travel to countries that are planning such regulations.” Federal Health
Minister Jens Spahn wants to pursue the plans to introduce an immunity card. Virologist
Alexander Kekulé thinks very little of the federal government's plans to open the border.
The introduction of an immunity card was originally planned in the Second Pandemic Law,
which is to be passed in the Bundestag on Thursday. However, due to opposition from the
SPD parliamentary group, the plan was cancelled. (Welt, May 14)

State of BW plans improvement of Corona ordinances
According to information from our editorial office, the State Government of Baden-
Wuerttemberg apparently plans to make improvements to the infection protection ordinance
in view of the Stuttgart mass demonstrations against corona restrictions. Minister of the
Interior Thomas Strobl told our editorial office that this kind of mass demonstrations caused
him great concern in view of the spread of the corona virus, but also with regard to
expectations towards the police. Strobl: "It cannot be that we ban families from celebrating

communion or confirmation with less than 100 guests and at the same time bring ten
thousand people together at the Cannstatter Wasen. Something must be changed."
Unlike in Bavaria or Berlin, for example, the Baden-Württemberg Corona Ordinance does
not yet set a ceiling for the number of participants in an approved assembly. Such a mark
would make it easier for local authorities and the police to decide whether to permit
demonstrations or to react uniformly in the event of violations. "One simply cannot expect
our police force to follow up and sanction every failure to comply with the distance rule,"
said the Interior Minister.
A spokesperson of the Ministry of the Interior added that the current assembly law already
offers the municipal public order offices the appropriate possibilities to react in case of
violations of legal requirements. Nevertheless, an "additional tax" for the Corona Protection
Ordinance was not excluded. In mid-April, the Federal Constitutional Court had upheld a
constitutional complaint filed by demo organizers against a fundamental rejection of protest
events by the state capital in the Corona crisis. At the same time, the court had declared that
such events must also take into account the protection of health. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten,
May 13)

How Restaurants cope during the corona crisis
The new restaurant owner used the free time. He painted the building at the edge of Hoffeld
inside and outside, inside he renewed lamps and the kitchen. After the state government had
eased the restrictions and announced a cautious new start for the restaurant from May 18, he
bought disinfectant for dishes, cutlery and furniture, as well as visors and masks for the face.
He has significantly reduced the number of outdoor seats and the tables have been moved far
apart. Instead of 100 guests, he will be able to host a maximum of 40 in the garden, but that is
"better than nothing, that's how it is. We restaurateurs are glad that something is coming at
all." Zoran Dragovic takes a red-and-white barrier tape from a drawer. He will also stretch it
under the capital walnut tree.
On Ascension Day, May 21, the party is finally to begin on the terrace in the idyllic valley
between Rams- und Weidachbach. Zoran Dragovic has already come up with a concept. He
wants to serve the Father's Day hikers with a white sausage breakfast from 10 a.m., at noon
the classic menu with specialities from Germany and the Balkans. Until 20 o'clock he may
open his outdoor area. Now only the people have to come - and the weather has to play along.
(Stuttgart Zeitung, May 13)

Does Corona crisis prevent (diesel) driving ban?
The new clean air plan for the state capital, which has now come into force, stipulates a
driving ban on Euro 5 diesel in the city center, Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach and Zuffenhausen
as of 1 July 2020. The basis for this is provided by the landmark ruling on air pollution
control by the Federal Administrative Court of Leipzig in February 2018, which even
describes the entire city of Stuttgart as an affected area.

The state capital is responsible for implementing the new small low emission zone. It must
order signs and set them up at 160 locations. However, the civil engineering office has not yet
ordered the new signs with the inscription "Diesel (except delivery traffic) only available
from Euro 6/VI". A spokeswoman for the city said that they are waiting for a decision by the
administrative court in Mannheim. It is "decisive for the ordering process." After the
decision, the implementation is to be started successively." The financial expenditure is
estimated at 250,000 euros; the city is demanding that the state bear the costs.
The conflicting parties, German Environmental Aid (DUH) and the state, have provided the
Mannheim judges with plenty of reading material; the senate is brooding over 600 pages.
With its appeal in Mannheim, the state wants to ward off the 25,000 euro fine imposed by the
Stuttgart Administrative Court in January.
The DUH has reacted with a follow-up complaint. It would like to see members of the
governing coalition imprisoned for years for exceeding the nitrogen dioxide limit. The state is
taking the position that it has now fulfilled all the conditions of the 2018 ruling. The DUH
denies this. The decision will be made in May, perhaps next week. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten,
May 13)

Community Enforcement Service monitoring Corona Ordinances
Everything is suddenly different. Even the everyday life of Gerd Maier and his colleagues.
He runs the public order office in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, and thus also the employees who
are currently - together with the police - implementing the corona regulations. "In the
meantime, I already have a folder for the ordinances," says Maier. Now that the loosening up
is coming, a lot of things are changing again, now they have to remember the changes again.
During times of corona his colleagues would spend less time on parking space surveillance,
says Maier. But this is justifiable, he says, because the pressure of parking and other
problems that traffic causes in normal times for the local authority no longer exist. Since the
airport and the trade fair have been shut down, there has been much less activity on the
roadsides of the city, says Maier.
Nevertheless, the municipal enforcement service is getting support. Half a dozen of teachers,
who are currently unable to work because of the day-care center closures, have offered to
travel around the city on bikes and speak to people when they act against the rules. They wear
T-shirts that show that they are working for the city. In most cases, a conversation, a
reminder of what is currently valid, is enough.
According to the head of the public order office, Maier, there have been 53 violations of the
regulations since March 18, most of them in public spaces because people had not observed
the contact restrictions or the distance rule, 53 violations for which it imposed a fine, which is
nevertheless a positive result for Maier. "That's absolutely within the limits, for it's such a
new topic for everyone." Most of those caught would plausibly claim to have forgotten for
the moment that they live in corona times.
The speed with which regulations have changed recently can put municipalities under stress.
Maier takes the example of playgrounds. Just a few days after the decision was made,
playgrounds reopened nationwide on May 6. This is what everyone had heard in the media.

However, there were playgrounds in Leinfelden-Echterdingen that were still fenced in with a
red and white fluttering band on the opening day. They had not yet been released because
there was still a need for clarification here and there, says Maier. But the barrier tapes were
still no obstacle for many. They had heard that the playgrounds were open. "These are the
things that make it complicated," he says. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, May 13)

Corona crisis - Bundestag approves more money for short-time work
Anyone who has to go into short-time employment or loses their job because of the corona
crisis will receive more support in future. The Bundestag today approved the Social Package
II with the votes of the Grand Coalition. The short-time work allowance will be increased
from the current general level of 60 percent of the lost net wage to 70 percent starting in the
fourth month. Starting in the seventh month, the rate will rise to 80 percent. (Ntv, May 14)

Heads of state and government demand free corona vaccine for all people
Leaders from around the world have called for free corona therapies and vaccines for all
people worldwide as soon as treatments become available. This is what they are calling for in
a letter with more than 140 prominent signatories, including South Africa's President Cyril
Ramaphosa, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the heads of state of Senegal and
Ghana, Macky Sall and Nana Akufo-Addo. The appeal is addressed to the World Health
Assembly, which meets next week for its annual meeting and is one of the main organs of the
World Health Organization. (Focus, May 14)