display
When Roland Grillmeier (CSU) talks about his first year as District Administrator of Tirschenreuth, he speaks of a "rollercoaster of emotions".
From the terrifying death toll at the beginning of the pandemic, which ended fatally for 266 mostly old people in his district.
From long summer weeks without new corona cases, in which it seemed as if calm had returned.
And of mutations that caused the number of infections in the northern Bavarian district in the Upper Palatinate to shoot up catastrophically in autumn and winter.
In February, the numbers hit a sad record with a seven-day incidence of 393.
No other district in Germany had more infections at that time.
“It was not an easy time,” says the 50-year-old, who only took office in the district with 72,000 inhabitants at the beginning of May 2020.
“I often had to experience that people dumped their frustration on me.
Suddenly you go from being much criticized to being much praised and vice versa. "
"The day on which we got below the 100 incidence for the first time in mid-April gave me a real feeling of happiness," says District Administrator Roland Grillmeier
Source: Hummer photo studio, Tirschenreuth
display
Grillmeier describes the proximity to hotspots in the Czech Republic as fatal.
In December, Christmas markets and restaurants were open there.
In January, the neighboring Czech district of Eger had incidence values of up to 1,300.
Due to the intensive commuting between the countries, the virus also spread dramatically in the Tirschenreuth district.
Source: WORLD infographic
And then, a few months later, it caught up with Grillmeier again, the rollercoaster of emotions.
When Tirschenreuth of all places became the district with the lowest incidence in Bavaria.
"The day we got below the 100 incidence for the first time in mid-April gave me a real feeling of happiness," he says.
Even if the fear resonated again immediately, the next morning the setback could come.
Or a week later when the students go back to school.
But the low number of infections in the region remained stable.
The seven-day incidence on May 14th is 43 per 100,000, which is below 100 for the 31st day in a row. Beer gardens have been open since May 10th.
Visits to outdoor restaurants are possible with an appointment, negative test result and mask.
Source: WORLD infographic
display
How did Tirschenreuth manage to contain the virus in such a way in just a few weeks?
More vaccine for the border region
“We didn't do that much differently than other districts,” says Grillmeier.
“But we took some measures earlier.” While the nationwide decision was only made in March to make rapid tests available to companies, this was done in Tirschenreuth as early as January.
In view of the many outbreaks in companies, experts from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) would have advised.
And the companies would have gratefully accepted.
“Probably also out of fear that otherwise the company could be closed”, believes Grillmeier, “as happened several times in neighboring districts when corona cases emerged.” From mid-January, commuters were required to test, and Germany introduced border controls a month later.
Many employees in the district come from the Czech Republic.
The cross-border commuter quota is 8.5 percent.
display
A large range of tests continues to be an important tool in coping with the pandemic.
On average, according to the district, 1000 tests are carried out daily in the respective centers.
This week the Bavarian Red Cross set up additional test centers at ten locations in the district.
The decisive factor was the insistence on extra vaccine rations.
On January 29th, Grillmeier and eight other district administrators from Hof to Regen founded a border region initiative with a five-point plan in a night campaign.
Important demand: more vaccine for the border region.
Bavaria, Berlin and Brussels then delivered additional cans.
For the Tirschenreuth district, this meant that ten percent of the population could vaccinate more quickly.
"Today," says Grillmeier, "we have a vaccination rate of over 39 percent for the first vaccinations."
Antibody study shows a high number of unreported cases
And one more thing gives Grillmeier hope that the number of infections will not suddenly skyrocket again: The Tirschenreuth district has an unusually high level of so-called contamination.
This is the result of a long-term study carried out by the University of Regensburg and which is now in the third phase.
In order to be able to prove how many people in the district were actually infected, more than 4,000 volunteers have their blood tested for antibodies that the immune system produces after a Covid infection.
The results from the first wave are amazing.
According to this, five times more people were infected than statistically recorded.
The number of unreported cases is highest in the group of 14 to 20 year olds.
With them, 92 percent of the infection went undetected.
While Munich had an antibody level of around two percent in the first wave, it was around nine percent in Tirschenreuth.
"We are estimated to be ten to 20 percent higher in the antibody rate than other Bavarian regions," says Grillmeier.
Study leader Ralf Wagner from the University of Regensburg told Bayerischer Rundfunk that the high number of infections in the first wave could be a reason for the current relatively high immunization rate in Tirschenreuth.
In the next phase, however, it must be clarified how long and to what extent antibodies can be detected in the blood after an infection or vaccination has been overcome, and when it is actually possible to speak of herd immunity.
"90 percent still have antibodies"
The Medical University of Innsbruck started an antibody study in Ischgl in April 2020.
At that time, 42.4 percent of the population tested had antibodies.
The population was tested again in November 2020.
You can see the full length of the press conference with the findings here.
Source: WORLD
Grillmeier sees the great willingness to take part in the study as a sign that Corona has brought the people in the district together.
"Almost everyone in our country knows someone who was affected himself and who may have died from Corona." This explains a reason for increased attention, caution and consideration for the people he observes.
“We have seen a lot here,” he says.
"This probably also means that there is more willingness to stick to the rules."