1. Infected: 7,156 (RKI numbers). Dead: 23 (NTV numbers). Infected in past 24 hours: 1,723. Top three German states with infected: NRW, Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. If you did the numbers with the population, then Hamburg (the state) would be the most highly infected state of Germany, and Thuringia would be the least infected (per population).
2. First death reported in my state of Hessen. Here in Wiesbaden, the 68-year old resident died yesterday.
3. Some grocery stores are declining the option of opening on Sundays. I noted that both Penny and Rewe, two major grocery operations in the country.....said 'no'....they have enough business already and didn't see the need for Sunday hours.
4. N-TV noted this morning that entry via the Frankfurt Airport for non-EU members is now impossible. New rule changes.
5. Why has Germany shown lesser death numbers than Italy? This got picked up by N-TV this morning and lightly discussed. Italy is nearing 28,000 on infections (WHO data), with 2,503 deaths (within the last 24-hour period, they had 349 dead folks.
This has popped up on TV forums, with various experts discussing the topic. No one has a clear answer for this. The Italians aren't publishing a lot of info on the dead. One has to wonder if the bulk are over the age of 65, and were heavy-smokers.
My own humble opinion, having been around Germans for years, is that this leads to three odd characteristics: (1) Germans are hyper and compulsive about sanitary conditions and hygienic practices. (2) Germans have a tight (small) circle of friends, so the social-passing of diseases isn't that common. (3) Italy has a significant number of people over the age of 65, and I kinda suspect that the bulk of the 2,503 Italian deaths at this point (maybe even 95-percent) are older folks. If you look at the German numbers of dead....the bulk are also over 65 years old.
6. The European soccer tournament has been moved to July of 2021 (instead of this summer).....with the games to be all played in England.
7. Friedrich Merz, chief candidate to be the new CDU party-chief and future Chancellor.....is announced to have the virus. Age: 64. He's in generally good health so no one assumes issues.
8. A 40 km (24.5 miles) traffic log-jam was reported yesterday on A4 (nearing the Polish border). German Foreign Minister is talking to the Poles and trying to relax the entry procedure. In general, the Poles have closed the border to all foreigners, with truckers seeming to get the pass to enter but most show that they have no symptoms. Holding back the truck deliveries? Well, if you think about it.....most of the trucks are probably from Spain, France and Italy.....with fruit and vegetables onboard. If you delay their delivery, you end up with shortages of food somewhere down the system..
9. The German Agricultural Minister is insisting that there is plenty of food, and no reason to be 'hamster-like' (over-buy). From my viewing of grocery operations over the past two weeks......plenty of fruit and vegetables. Same with meat products. Canned products, spaghetti, and toilet paper are the only items in short supply.
10. There is some plan going on in Berlin to build a giant temporary hospital on the Messe grounds of the city. It would be for a max of 1,000 patients, and the Bundeswehr (German Army) would run it. It wouldn't surprise me if five or six other metropolitan areas of Germany also start some plan for a 500-to-1,000 bed facility like this.
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