It's a serious story, but it's also a part of the Covid-19 'saga'.
Around three weeks ago....the Bavarian government got all hyped up and said that folks driving into Bavaria, who'd come from a 'hot-zone' as part of their vacation....needed to stop at the border station, and have a Covid-19 test.
A employee of the Passau A3 autobahn Covid-test site....came up over the weekend with a positive test....so it's reported via N-TV.
It's not a state or federal guy....just a private employee of the firm doing the test business.
All the folks who'd been around this one person....had to go and test. So far....none of the others have come up positive (a good thing).
The odds that the person got it from the testing process? Zero chance that you can establish that. He or she could have just as easily gotten it from a chance encounter at some grocery store, after work.
But it's going to test in other ways....the political 'game' being played out and if you start to see one here and there at the test facilities.....it might hint that the process is not secure. So far, this is the only case where this came up.
Monday, August 17, 2020
Covid-Fight?
Last night (Sunday evening), a guy went to the Tegal Airport (Berlin), walked up to the Corona-test facility. The deal (mandate) is that you get off the plane, admit you were in a Corona 'hot-zone', they test you for 'free', and you get notified if you were positive or negative.
There....around 6 PM, the site manager went over the info of the guy who came 'in'. The manager then said 'no, you are not eligible for the free test'.
Then, a fight of some type breaks out. It's not described in any detail, and RBB-journalists did report the episode, but with the barest of details. Maybe there was a push or two....maybe just a arm from the traveler pushing the test-manager back. This part of the story is unknown, unless you pick up local news sources.
What they say locally is that this was a Berlin-guy.....just that he wasn't flying or traveling. He just wanted to walk in and get a free test. In this case, you'd go to your local doctor, present your health card, and the doctor would ask questions.....to determine if you really needed the test. No symptoms or travel to a 'hot-zone'? Well....you probably won't get the test unless you want to pay for it.
What happens now? With the assault discussion....some folks will suggest that police need to be around the facility....guarding the lab guys there. I know....it's a bit silly, but it demonstrates how things can get out of hand.
There....around 6 PM, the site manager went over the info of the guy who came 'in'. The manager then said 'no, you are not eligible for the free test'.
Then, a fight of some type breaks out. It's not described in any detail, and RBB-journalists did report the episode, but with the barest of details. Maybe there was a push or two....maybe just a arm from the traveler pushing the test-manager back. This part of the story is unknown, unless you pick up local news sources.
What they say locally is that this was a Berlin-guy.....just that he wasn't flying or traveling. He just wanted to walk in and get a free test. In this case, you'd go to your local doctor, present your health card, and the doctor would ask questions.....to determine if you really needed the test. No symptoms or travel to a 'hot-zone'? Well....you probably won't get the test unless you want to pay for it.
What happens now? With the assault discussion....some folks will suggest that police need to be around the facility....guarding the lab guys there. I know....it's a bit silly, but it demonstrates how things can get out of hand.
Sunday, August 16, 2020
E-Scooter Story
I point this out from a WDR (regional news from NW Germany)....that if you are drunk on a E-bike (with a car license in your possession)....you will be treated as though it was a car, and lose your license.
There were four drunk young guys from Koln....using the E-scooters over the weekend.
The local police stopped them and did the test....failing them. Breath alcohol test. This led to a blood test, and a failure there.
Same rules apply for the E-scooters as the cars. In this case, they failed with a .3 to .5 per mille....thus being a DWI.
There were four drunk young guys from Koln....using the E-scooters over the weekend.
The local police stopped them and did the test....failing them. Breath alcohol test. This led to a blood test, and a failure there.
Same rules apply for the E-scooters as the cars. In this case, they failed with a .3 to .5 per mille....thus being a DWI.
The Lost 46
This is one of those stories that you sit and ponder upon.
So for those who didn't know....the Bavarian government (the state guys) hyped up this Covid-19 testing business....via airports, autobahn entry, and railway situations as you enter Germany. If you came from any vacation site deemed a 'hot-zone' (Turkey for example)....you have to submit for a free test there at the entry point....period, end of story.
That was eight days ago.
From that initial opening session (Saturday)....they were supposed to turn the results around and notify folks within three days (figure Monday morning of last week).
Out of 40k folks....the Bavarians had to embarrassingly admit by Thursday morning....that the system wasn't working right. In 24 hours, they dragged in enough people to punch in the data and send out the notifications....either positive or negative.
I should note at this point....949 folks tested positive. You can imagine...by Friday....they'd already been home for a week.
So Focus brought up this topic here today.....from this group of 949 folks (who'd you admit it was REAL important to contact them)....so far, they haven't been able to find or talk to 46 of them.
On the scale of things, you'd think it was mighty important to find those 46 folks (a full 8 days after they'd been tested).
Private data giving them the name, address, email, and phone number? Yes. But no contact so far? Yeah, that's the odd thing.
What happened to the folks? Unknown. You can speculate on this. Maybe they took a week extra off, and went camping somewhere. Maybe they just don't answer their phone on weekends. Maybe they gave fake names/numbers to the test folks?
The police? They are engaged on this now but they have to be asking some stupid questions of the test folks....if maybe false names got into the process.
So for those who didn't know....the Bavarian government (the state guys) hyped up this Covid-19 testing business....via airports, autobahn entry, and railway situations as you enter Germany. If you came from any vacation site deemed a 'hot-zone' (Turkey for example)....you have to submit for a free test there at the entry point....period, end of story.
That was eight days ago.
From that initial opening session (Saturday)....they were supposed to turn the results around and notify folks within three days (figure Monday morning of last week).
Out of 40k folks....the Bavarians had to embarrassingly admit by Thursday morning....that the system wasn't working right. In 24 hours, they dragged in enough people to punch in the data and send out the notifications....either positive or negative.
I should note at this point....949 folks tested positive. You can imagine...by Friday....they'd already been home for a week.
So Focus brought up this topic here today.....from this group of 949 folks (who'd you admit it was REAL important to contact them)....so far, they haven't been able to find or talk to 46 of them.
On the scale of things, you'd think it was mighty important to find those 46 folks (a full 8 days after they'd been tested).
Private data giving them the name, address, email, and phone number? Yes. But no contact so far? Yeah, that's the odd thing.
What happened to the folks? Unknown. You can speculate on this. Maybe they took a week extra off, and went camping somewhere. Maybe they just don't answer their phone on weekends. Maybe they gave fake names/numbers to the test folks?
The police? They are engaged on this now but they have to be asking some stupid questions of the test folks....if maybe false names got into the process.
Police Raids
Several hundred German police were busy yesterday....conducting raids in northern Germany (NRW)....as reported by N-TV this morning.
Towns? Herne, Witten, Bochum, Mulheim, Duisburg, Dormund, Wuppertal, Mettmann, and Gelsenkirchen.
Primary aim? Criminal gangs/clans....running pubs, betting centers, and 'arcades'. Illegal slot machines were taken while on this search.
Towns? Herne, Witten, Bochum, Mulheim, Duisburg, Dormund, Wuppertal, Mettmann, and Gelsenkirchen.
Primary aim? Criminal gangs/clans....running pubs, betting centers, and 'arcades'. Illegal slot machines were taken while on this search.
Saturday, August 15, 2020
Testing News
So this came up today in the news.....Austria is now worried over Germans who are apparently on vacation in Croatia (or beyond), and trying to return via Austrian highways to Bavaria. N-TV did a good job explaining this.
The discussion? Well....the Austrians might mandate 'testing' at the border for all Germans....who'd just be passing through. So you'd stop at the border, spend probably sixty to ninety minutes in some line with other Germans (Dutch too, probably)....before they'd let you pass. Three hours later, you'd be at the German-Bavarian border, and the next Covid-19 test would occur.
Cost? Unknown, but I seriously doubt that it'd be free.
Going and coming? You could be talking about a thousand Euro in Covid-19 testing for a family of four, to pass via three or four countries.
If you wanted to kill off tourism out of Germany, via your car....this idea would accomplish it.
The discussion? Well....the Austrians might mandate 'testing' at the border for all Germans....who'd just be passing through. So you'd stop at the border, spend probably sixty to ninety minutes in some line with other Germans (Dutch too, probably)....before they'd let you pass. Three hours later, you'd be at the German-Bavarian border, and the next Covid-19 test would occur.
Cost? Unknown, but I seriously doubt that it'd be free.
Going and coming? You could be talking about a thousand Euro in Covid-19 testing for a family of four, to pass via three or four countries.
If you wanted to kill off tourism out of Germany, via your car....this idea would accomplish it.
Tesla Update
After the wall came down, and Germany unified.....most eastern Germans were fairly angry and negative about jobs not forthcoming.
So in the past year, Tesla announced their plan....a plant on the SE side of Berlin, about a 30-odd kilometres from the city. A minimum of 8k jobs. Just about everyone in the region is hyped up.
Well....as this video report from RBB (public TV in the Berlin area) shows....the Linke Party is unhappy. There are a list of things they wanted Tesla to sign up to, and Tesla basically said 'screw you'.....either accept the plant and cars being built there, or we will find another location.
It's a two-minute report by RBB, and I strongly suggest a review.
So in the past year, Tesla announced their plan....a plant on the SE side of Berlin, about a 30-odd kilometres from the city. A minimum of 8k jobs. Just about everyone in the region is hyped up.
Well....as this video report from RBB (public TV in the Berlin area) shows....the Linke Party is unhappy. There are a list of things they wanted Tesla to sign up to, and Tesla basically said 'screw you'.....either accept the plant and cars being built there, or we will find another location.
It's a two-minute report by RBB, and I strongly suggest a review.
The Mask 'War'
N-TV this morning brought up this issue in Germany, as schools are opening now, and the rule is mandated that you have to wear a mask in some way.....either outside the classroom (in the hall or playground), or in the class itself. Sixteen states have sixteen 'rules'.
Well...as N-TV points out....there are already parents and groups challenging the rules in court. Some are saying that the state does not have the right to mandate this.
Adding to this 'fury'.....some doctors are signing certificates (which are generally accepted) saying that 'little Johann' doesn't require a mask in school. The state system is challenging the doctors and saying that they don't have a right to sign a certificate in such a way.
Where this is leading? I'd be guessing by spring....more than forty-odd cases headed toward the German version of the Supreme Court, and some judges having to decide where rights begin and end.
The real amusing part of this story? We are heading into an election year with negativity brewing on masks, and the political parties are going to wake up to find 20-percent of the public disagree with them enough to look for radical parties to fuel their 'agenda'.
Well...as N-TV points out....there are already parents and groups challenging the rules in court. Some are saying that the state does not have the right to mandate this.
Adding to this 'fury'.....some doctors are signing certificates (which are generally accepted) saying that 'little Johann' doesn't require a mask in school. The state system is challenging the doctors and saying that they don't have a right to sign a certificate in such a way.
Where this is leading? I'd be guessing by spring....more than forty-odd cases headed toward the German version of the Supreme Court, and some judges having to decide where rights begin and end.
The real amusing part of this story? We are heading into an election year with negativity brewing on masks, and the political parties are going to wake up to find 20-percent of the public disagree with them enough to look for radical parties to fuel their 'agenda'.
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