At the beginning of the corona pandemic, many people were waiting for the protective vaccination tips. In the meantime, most of them have already been supplied with it several times and the once so threatening virus is gradually losing its terror. However, one is still waiting for the redeeming injection – namely the financial injection worth millions from the Free State of Bavaria. The district of Ebersberg had to advance enormous amounts of money during the peak phase of the pandemic in order to quickly set up a functioning offer of help. Although a large part of these costs are reimbursed by the Free State, the repayment is progressing very slowly.
Specifically, it is about the sum of around 1.53 million euros, which the district has not yet received back for the years 2020 to 2022. That’s what Stefan Madl, head of the district cash office at the district office, said at the most recent meeting of the district and strategy committee. Most of the outstanding money – around 745,000 euros – results from the phases between the so-called disasters. The Bavarian state government had proclaimed this for three periods of the pandemic. The district of Ebersberg then set up a crisis management team, which was supported by specialist advisors from the police, the armed forces, the Technical Relief Agency, the Red Cross, the medical head of hospital coordination and the medical officer. During the hot phase of the pandemic, this body coordinated weekly, since then it has met once a month.
It’s about 1.53 million euros, which the district would like to have reimbursed
For the first two disasters, the district has already received most of the costs reimbursed. For the third disaster, however, there are still no guidelines from the ministry. Likewise for the periods in between, as Stefan Madl now said: “We keep asking.” At the moment, however, there is no final statement from the Ministry of Health as to how the costs incurred between the disasters will be dealt with. This applies above all to the spending on the citizen hotline and the security service at the district office, which was responsible for visitor guidance.
Thanks to funding, the district is fully reimbursed for the costs of the wastewater monitoring, which veterinarian Katalyn Roßmann is presenting here to Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
On the other hand, there is positive news about the financing of the vaccination center and the mobile vaccination teams. For both areas, the costs are borne in full by the Free State. For the years 2021 and 2022 alone, the district paid more than 22.6 million euros in advance, but most of the money has now been reimbursed. The same applies to the so-called Control-Covid-Strategy of the district, which mainly includes the scientific evaluation of the wastewater. Since Ebersberg is part of a pilot project, these costs are also fully covered by a funding program.
In many areas, demands on the Free State cannot yet be asserted
In other areas, however, the question of financing remains unresolved, for example in the case of the diagnostic center. Although the district was able to claim a large part of the costs incurred there, a sum of 57,000 euros is still open. This also applies to the more than 400,000 euros that the district would like to reclaim from the Free State for its contact tracing teams. However, according to Stefan Madl, there is currently no possibility of reimbursement. Nor for the 10,400 euros for the auxiliary hospital, the around 20,600 euros for the quarantine stations in homes and the 28,500 euros for Covid patient transport – in all of these cases, the district office is waiting for an impulse from the state ministry, how to because you can get your money back. In the worst case, the district could be left with the outstanding 1.53 million euros.
Meanwhile, the district office is happy that the corona pandemic has lost its initial terror. “It was a difficult time, which the house mastered with great bravura,” said District Administrator Robert Niedergesäß (CSU), after all there was no blueprint for it. And even if the peak phase of the pandemic seems to be finally over, the consequences are still noticeable in the day-to-day work of the authority.