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Erfurt / Greiz (dpa / th) - The spread of the corona virus in the nationwide hotspot Thuringia is advancing rapidly.
The seven-day incidence has been rising incessantly for weeks, on Thursday it was 180.2 - by far the highest value nationwide, as figures from the Erfurt State Chancellery show.
The situation is particularly dramatic in the district of Greiz, where the seven-day incidence on Thursday was 538.
Health Minister Heike Werner (left) called the development of the number of infections in the region "worrying".
It was only under pressure from Werner's ministry that the district of Greiz took further corona measures on Wednesday, such as imposing a curfew.
Residents of the region are only allowed to leave their homes for compelling reasons.
The stricter rules, which include a ban on alcohol in public places, apply until March 31.
As can be seen from a letter from the Ministry of Health on Monday, the Greiz District Administrator Martina Schweinsburg (CDU) was asked in writing on Saturday to take stricter measures to contain the pandemic in the region.
At first she did not follow this.
It was only when State Secretary Ines Feierabend threatened to involve the state administrative office and the consequences under service law that the district reacted and published the corresponding general decree.
The newspapers of Funke Medien Thuringia had previously reported on it.
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Schweinsburg declared the nationwide highest seven-day incidence, among other things, with many corona tests that were carried out in their circle.
"What I would strongly recommend would be a nationwide test regime that also tests the symptom-free contact persons," said the local politician on Thursday the broadcaster MDR Aktuell.
Meanwhile, the Thuringian state government is struggling to find a strategy for testing schools in the future.
Thuringia's Minister of Education Helmut Holter (left) warned against waiting even longer to order corona tests.
“If we want the tests in schools and kindergartens, the country has to get them now.
For this we need the money and the central logistics, ”said Holter of the dpa.
The background to this is that a contract for the billing of corona tests with the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians will soon expire and the budgeted money for it will soon be exhausted.
"Anyone who hesitates now risks that we will end up without tests after Easter," said Holter.
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Between the left, the SPD and the Greens, there are sometimes different views of what a test strategy for schools and daycare centers should look like.
While the SPD education politician Thomas Hartung is promoting compulsory testing, which in his opinion could also be implemented with so-called self-tests, the education expert of the Greens, Astrid Rothe-Beinlich, advocated a mix of the more expensive rapid tests and the cheaper but less reliable self-tests out.
Holter rejected the Green proposal.
“I don't believe in having two different test systems in schools over the long term.
That is only possible for a short transition period. "
He called for the test system in schools to be completely converted to self-tests.
"There is no other way of doing hundreds of thousands of tests per week."
Holter argued that aid organizations had signaled that expanding the tests in schools was not affordable for them.
Corona self-tests would have to be carried out by teachers and students themselves.
In contrast, rapid tests require medical personnel - for example from the German Red Cross.
According to the minister, these forces are urgently needed to carry out the corona tests for citizens - for example in the municipalities.
"That is one of the reasons why we have to switch to self-tests as soon as possible in the education sector."
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The Thuringian Teachers' Association (tlv) insisted on the introduction of mandatory testing after the Easter holidays.
"We expect that from the first day of school after the Easter break, a general test obligation will apply to all pupils and all school staff," said tlv boss Rolf Busch.
However, there are also legal concerns about compulsory testing for students.
In Saxony, where this obligation already exists, several parents took legal action against it with urgent applications.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210318-99-877991 / 2
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