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In view of the persistently high number of corona infections, the federal and state governments want to limit celebrations in public or rented rooms. A maximum limit of 50 people applies if more than 35 new infections occur per 100,000 inhabitants in a district within seven days, Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the switch with the state prime ministers. Private celebrations are “one of the main causes of infection outbreaks.”
In private rooms, therefore, there should be no regulations on the number of participants. According to information from dpa, the resolution establishes that it is strongly recommended not to hold a ceremony with more than 25 participants in private rooms.
More infections mean a stricter limit
If there are more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in a district within seven days, further action must be taken. In particular, the number of participants should be limited to a maximum of 25 in public or rented rooms. In private rooms it is strongly recommended not to hold celebrations with more than ten participants in this case. There may be exceptions for celebrations registered with hygiene plans approved by the health department.
The growing number of new corona infections is cause for concern, Merkel said. There is a significant increase in the number of infections, especially in metropolitan areas. Another closure should be avoided, that is, an extended closure of economic and social life as in the spring. Therefore, regional and local outbreaks will be responded to in a specific way.
Germany weathered the summer well, but now, with fall and winter, “more difficult times are ahead,” Merkel said. But this can be countered with the right measures. These can only be enforced if there is the will of citizens to follow the rules so that the epidemic does not spread further. The priority is to keep the economy as far away as possible and that children can go to schools and daycare.
It was previously known that the federal and state governments had agreed to, among other things, a minimal penalty for providing incorrect contact details at restaurants and similar establishments. It should be at least 50 euros. Anyone who gives false information about himself in a restaurant or other inns in Schleswig-Holstein faces a future fine of up to 1,000 euros. This was announced by Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) shortly after the change.
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) sees the federal and state governments also prepared for the fall and winter with the new concept. You have “a philosophy, a set of rules, a strategy,” Söder said at the press conference with Merkel and Hamburg Prime Minister Peter Tschentscher. Currently there is a kind of traffic light with different signals and alert levels that determine how, above certain threshold values, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants should react in seven days.
“Are we spoilers or Philistines? No.”
“More mask, less alcohol and smaller celebrations,” that’s the “basic triad,” Söder said. “Are we spoilers or Philistines? No.” But the decision was made to “act with caution rather than recklessness,” said the CSU chief. “We don’t want a general blockade across the country.” Instead, they want to act regionally when the number of infections increases.
The Robert Koch Institute asked Söder to issue an advance warning before designating new international corona risk areas. Currently, new areas are being named overnight, Söder said. He spoke of a period of about two days for the warning. The Bavarian head of government also opposed new border closures: “One of the priorities should also be that the borders remain open.”
Merkel recommended that citizens take a vacation in Germany or in European regions with a low number of corona infections. Vacation trips to risky areas are not indicated, the Chancellor said. You can also go on vacation to Germany. “There are also areas in Europe that are not risk areas. For example, we still have a comparatively low risk of infection in Italy.” At the same time, she reiterated her warning voiced at the CDU presidium that no countermeasures will be taken now if Germany were to record 19,200 new infections every day at Christmas given the current dynamics.
Merkel’s calculation: here’s how the chancellor came up with the 19,200 new infections every day
The chancellor explained that she obtained this number using a simple calculation model: “In late June and early July we had 300 new infections on some days. And now we have 2,400 infections on some days,” Merkel said. “That means nothing more than in July, August, September, in three months, the number of infections has doubled three times: from 300 to 600, from 600 to 1200, from 1200 to 2400.”
If this continued in the next three months – October, November, December – “then we would go from 2400 to 4800, to 9600, to 19,200”. This is the essence of exponential increase.
He wanted to show that the doubling time, if it remains the same, “still leads to a large number of cases.” This underscores the urgency to act where there is exponential growth, Merkel said. The previously very flat infection process could change when the weather changes because you can no longer spend as much time outdoors.
