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Partial lockdown until at least December 20, stricter contact restrictions, ban on firecrackers
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Under one condition, the restaurants could reopen before December 20.
Source: AFP / CHRISTOF STACHE
At Wednesday’s federal-state conference, states want to extend existing crown rules and, in some cases, tighten them even further. There is also a ban on firecrackers on New Years Eve. There should be exceptions to the strict Christmas contact restrictions.
secondand countries are sure to adopt more far-reaching corona measures on Wednesday. In a country proposal from Sunday there is talk of a greater closure of restaurants and leisure facilities until at least December 20. However, if the so-called seven-day incidence in a federal state falls below 35, restaurants should also be able to reopen beforehand. Both Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had previously said they expected an extension of the shutdown. As of late evening, it was initially unclear which of the 16 state governments would support the latest proposals.
The document also foresees more contact restrictions. For example, private meetings with friends, relatives and acquaintances must take place in one’s own home and in another home, “but in any case limited to a maximum of five people.” Children up to 14 years old are excluded. There should be exceptions for the Christmas holidays; then, members of more than two households should be able to meet, according to the template. Here too an upper limit of five or ten people should apply; the proposed resolution does not yet specify an exact value.
“With this regulation, Christmas should also be possible in this special year as a celebration with family and friends, albeit on a smaller scale,” says the newspaper. However, it is recommended “whenever possible to go to a self-quarantine house for several days if possible” before and after the holidays.
The template also provides for the tightening of the mask requirement: “Everyone has to wear a cover for the mouth and nose in closed rooms that are publicly accessible or accessible to visitors or customers,” it says. “In addition, a mouth and nose cover should also be worn in public places outdoors, where people are confined or not only temporarily.”
The SPD-led federal states also do not want to allow New Year’s fireworks this year. Therefore, the lighting, buying and selling of firecrackers and rockets should be banned in Germany by the end of the year, report the “Berliner Morgenpost” and the business magazine “Business Insider”, citing the draft resolution of the country that presides over the conference of ministers. The mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller (SPD), currently holds the presidency.
The objective is to avoid the formation of groups, relieve emergency services such as the police and firefighters and keep the capacities of the health system free, according to the newspaper, which is dated November 22.
For schools there must be a combination of tightening with simultaneous regional differentiation. In regions with an incidence significantly higher than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants of seventh-grade and vocational schools, a mask should be prescribed. Schools without infection should be excluded from this. The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), insisted on this. The ideas are similar to previous SPD proposals in the field. At one point, however, a suggestion from Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) is accepted: if an infection occurs in a class, it should be quarantined with interested teachers for five days. This can then be reversed with a negative rapid test. This is to prevent more and more students from having to stay in isolation for weeks.
Merkel and Prime Ministers will meet on Wednesday
According to the template, the crown restrictions that have been in place since early November will run until at least December 20. The aforementioned adjustment should be applied from December 1 to January 17. The draft resolution is the basis for the deliberations of the heads of state governments with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on Wednesday.
Merkel and the prime ministers want to meet to agree on a concept before the end of the year if possible. The Chancellor had already insisted on a stricter course in last week’s deliberations in light of the persistently high number of infections, but to no avail. “This week we will probably decide exactly what was discussed last week,” criticized Söder on Sunday night. Germany has the softest lockdown in all of Europe, so it takes more time before the numbers drop again.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 15,741 new infections in the past 24 hours on Sunday, just under a week ago when 16,947 new infections were reported.
