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The crown situation is reaching a critical point in North Rhine-Westphalia. Several cities break an important boundary. Prime Minister Laschet is now tightening restrictions.
North Rhine-Westphalia wants to limit the number of participants in private celebrations in restaurants across the country to 50 people. This was announced by Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) on Sunday after a special meeting of his cabinet. The regulation applies to all private celebrations that are not held at home. The background is the growing number of new corona virus infections across the country.
Laschet also wants to standardize restrictions on public life at critical points in the crown. As soon as a district or independent city exceeds the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, only up to five people from different households should be allowed to gather there in public. In addition, the opening hours of pubs and restaurants will be restricted and strict maximum limits will apply for public events. For celebrations in private rooms, the number of participants will be further reduced to 25.
“Uniformity and clarity”
“Now we are creating uniformity and clarity at all critical points,” Laschet said. So far, all affected districts and urban districts had to decide for themselves on countermeasures if the warning value of 50 new infections per 100,000 was exceeded. For days, NRW has had the highest infection rates of all the German territorial states. Nine independent districts and cities have exceeded the significant warning value of 50, including Cologne and Essen.
Laschet also announced intensified testing for the corona virus in nursing homes and senior citizens. In municipalities in which the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants exceeds the so-called early warning value of 35 in a week, “a single comprehensive test should be carried out on all residents and employees of these facilities.”
Laschet criticizes accommodation bans
Laschet is skeptical about accommodation bans for tourists from high-risk regions. “If many places in Germany are risk areas, the question of who is allowed to travel from where to where is actually of secondary importance,” he said.
In many German holiday areas, travelers coming from a region with more than 50 new corona infections per 100,000 must present a negative corona test that is no older than 48 hours. As a result, there is a rush to get to the testing centers at the start of fall break.
“Anyone who can still be tested uses the testing capabilities that we really need for other areas,” Laschet said. In North Rhine-Westphalia, at the moment, there are no accommodation bans for tourists from the Crown hotspots in the interior of Germany. Instead, Laschet appealed to citizens to “generally refrain from traveling during the fall holidays and stay home as far away as possible within Germany.”
Laschet said: “Many have become too frivolous. And each and every one of them helps us fight the virus.” People now have to make sacrifices in private celebrations so that schools and kindergartens can remain open and public life is not paralyzed again. “Now he does not celebrate in an enclosed space. Anyone who has something to celebrate at this time should refrain from doing so in these times. We must all be careful now,” Laschet warned. “If we do everything now, there will be no second lockdown.”
Note: It has been added to the text that the maximum number of participants for private celebrations only applies if they take place outside the private house in public spaces, for example in restaurants. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia had specified its details in hindsight.
