Health Department wants more jobs – Freiburg

BREISGAU HIGH-BLACK FOREST (swo). In the high phase of the corona epidemic in the region, the health department was no longer able to follow the infection chains. This is what Oliver Kappert, head of the health department says in an interview with the BZ. “Initially, the number of cases increased exponentially, and we had large increases within a few days. You cannot be prepared for this dimension,” said Kappert. The authority is responsible for the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district and the city of Freiburg – and thus for around 500,000 people. For every sick person there are an average of ten contacts that can be tracked. So far there have been more than 2,000 cases in the region, which makes more than 20,000 contacts. “That was no longer affordable,” says Kappert. It has always been pointed out that the health department is too small, says Martin Barth, the district’s first state official. The authority has 57 full-time positions. “In normal operation, that’s hardly enough. But we no longer have regular operation,” said Barth. In the aftermath of the Corona crisis, the office had to be strengthened, Kappert believes. The health department is said to be one of eight in the country to work with new software. Kappert is skeptical about the current easing. From the point of view of the health authority, a slower and more systematic approach would have been desirable. “But that’s just a view of the situation, society is made up of many parts.”

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