The Corona Chronicles in Germany Part 1 Posted by Larissa on Mar 17, 2020 in Uncategorized
As the corona virus is taking over the news (and slowly our everyday lives), I thought I would update you on what the situation is like here in Germany (predominantly Bavaria). In case you want more information on the corona virus itself, click here. I live in Munich and there have been many changes to our daily lives. Here are the facts:
Alle Schulen sind geschlossen
All schools are closed
From Monday the 16th of March, all schools, kindergartens and universities will be closed. They plan to close until the 19th of April, which is the end of the Osterferien (Easter holidays). Children are now required to learn online von zu Hause (from home).
Die Schließung von Geschäften, die nicht zur Grundversorgung notwendig sind
Closures by certain shops, that are not essential for basic needs
From Tuesday the 17th of March, all Schwimmbäder (swimming pools), Kinos (cinemas) and Bars (bars) will be completely closed. Other shops that are not essential will also close. Restaurants and cafes will be open until 3pm, but must have enough space so that everyone has a 1.5 meter distance between each other. Gyms will close for a minimum of 14 days.
Längere Öffnungszeiten
Longer opening times
Supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, and petrol stations will have longer opening times. Usually supermarkets are only open till 8pm Monday – Saturday. Soon they will be allowed to be open until 10pm and also on Sundays.
Arbeiten von zu Hause
Working from home
Although this is not Pflicht (mandatory), a lot of people are now working at home. I am currently still going to work every day (however if the situation continues to escalate this may change). I am also part time self-employed and because all gyms must close, my fitness classes have completely been cancelled. Luckily I work part time employed at an office too, so I will still be getting paid. For people who are completely self-employed there is already a big struggle.
As of yet there is no Ausgangssperre (a ban on going out), however the Minister President Markus Söder says:
“Ich kann nicht versprechen, dass es die letzten Maßnahmen sind”
(I cannot promise that these will be the last actions).
Vocabulary List:
die Osterferien the Easter holidays
die Schule the school
das Schwimmbad the swimming pool
das Kino the cinema
die Bar the bar
die Pflicht mandatory
die Ausgangssperre the curfew
die Maßnahmen the actions
The current amount of people infected in Germany are 6931, in Bavaria there are 1067. At the moment these figures are growing every day. What is the situation like where you live? Leave a comment below and let me know if your country or town/city is affected by the virus.
Thanks for reading,
Larissa
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About the Author: Larissa
Hello I'm Larissa. I live in Germany and I am half German and half English. I love sharing my passion for Germany with you through my posts! Apart from writing posts I teach fitness classes in Munich.
Comments:
Nick:
I think your case endings are wrong here : bei ausgewählte Geschäfte
It should be dative plural. bei ausgewählteN GeschäfteN
Larissa:
@Nick Hi Nick!
Thank you for your comment, I have revised the sentence and added the missing “n”.
Larissa
Clive Greenwood:
Hi,
I think in England there is great confusion at the moment. In Deutschland they really go for it which is something I like. Its black and white, no shades of grey.
I like your emails et. please keep them coming through, as now I can’t get to the gym.
Best wishes,
Tscuss
Larissa:
@Clive Greenwood Hi Clive,
Yes that is true, Germany is taking it very seriously. I heard that schools aren’t closing in the UK and there are parents who aren’t happy about it.
I will keep you updated and you can keep us updated in the comments section how it’s looking over in England.
Stay healthy!
Larissa
Penny:
I am an Australian grandmother, 78 years old, living in Melbourne.
I am ashamed to say that there has been such panic
buying of food our supermarket shelves are stripped,
yet we produce 85% of our food. If you want to buy
a freezer, I only have the small one with my fridge, they have all gone.
Yesterday a big supermarket chain Woolworths opened at 7am for over 70’s and disabled only until 8am. It was a disaster as they had not been able to refill the shelves
from the previous day. So many old people were queueing up from 6.30am in the dark and then came
away with nothing or just went home as they were
too frightened in the crush of people. Another supermarket chain Coles has tried it today but don’t
know how it went. A couple of days ago the panic
buyers hit the fresh produce and at 9 am Woolworths
were cleared out of potatoes and onions and meat and chicken.. I believe it
is worse today. It is thought that people from the city are now going to small country towns near Melbourne
and clearing out their supermarkets. This is particularly
bad as they cannot restock overnight as in the city.
My husband and I have enough food for 2 weeks and
could probably stretch it to a month with some very
strange meals! I have been buying just a little extra
than normal for about a month. Two days ago, I bought
a loaf of bread and then saw a young woman with
8 big loaves in her trolley. She remarked to her friend
that she had ‘done’ the long life milk the previous day,
no doubt a trolley full, and today was doing bread
and something else. Today I heard there is to be a
limit of 2 on all packaged items except essentials like
Flour, rice, pasta and of courses toilet paper where the
limit is one.
Our medical centre started telephone consultations
yesterday and I am writing this waiting for my
doctor to ring at my appointment time, so I can order some prescriptions for essential medications and get some results. It is good that they have started this.
May you all keep safe and well in Germany. My
Grandparents were a German.
Larissa:
@Penny Hello Penny,
I’m so sorry to hear this! In Germany it is also very similar with food shopping (and toilet paper).
Wishing you all the best and I hope you are able to do a proper food shop soon.
Stay healthy and safe,
Larissa