Frankfurt-Hoffenheim to proceed with fans despite infection cluster
A COVID cluster in the city of Frankfurt led to a large overnight surge in the seven-day-infection-average. As of yesterday, the city had running total of 25.6. That number unexpectedly increased to 41.96 on Friday.
Despite the surprising news, the club announced that plans to allow in some 8,000 fans who have purchased a ticket for Saturday's fixture will proceed. The development sets a precedent that, at least in one case, informational nuance can override the RKI Stabilizer.
SGE officials described the overnight escalation of the city's COVID infection rates as a "locally containable situation." The increased numbers are believed to have resulted from an outbreak in a temporary shelter zone.
Despite the surprising news, the club announced that plans to allow in some 8,000 fans who have purchased a ticket for Saturday's fixture will proceed. The development sets a precedent that, at least in one case, informational nuance can override the RKI Stabilizer.
The city's health department reportedly contact traced a contagion event in a close-quarters camp populated by refugees, Eastern European citizens, and the homeless. The flare up affected 114 unfortunate individuals sharing close quarters in the camp.
Such a tracing effort constitutes, in the words of the city, a "locally traceable and containable event". In announcing the discovery, deputy head of the Frankfurt Health Department Antoni Walczok explained that the trace would not affect the Frankfurt-Hoffenheim match.
"We see no intersection between the local incident and the guests of the fixture," Walczok said, "A reduction in the number of spectators is not necessary to prevent infection."