With coronavirus making a comeback, the BVG has announced that mass staff sick leaves have severely disrupted Berlin's public transport network in recent weeks.
The BVG, the public transport association for Berlin, has been forced to further reduce the number of bus services after a large number of employees - between 6 and 8 percent of the total workforce - have gone on sick leave over the recent winter weeks.
According to representative Rolf Erfurt, these absences meant a 6-percent reduction in services. Pressure on services has been compounded since December 10, when the company also reduced available bus routes by 6 percent to cope with a shortage of drivers.
Why many employees are afflicted with a simple cold, recent testing on wastewater in Germany has shown that coronavirus infections are at their highest level since June 2022.
While only a small group are currently suffering serious effects of coronavirus or other respiratory infections, around 10 percent of the population has been sick over winter, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
And people aren’t kicking their colds as fast as expected, with many bed-ridden for sick leave lasting around two weeks. Without mandatory mask-wearing, the spread of coughs and sneezes has left many services and businesses struggling to maintain operations.
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