Corona: radical lockdown during Easter: the new rules at a glance

TOIn view of the continuous increase in the number of corona infections, the federal and state governments are sending to Germany Easter at sharpest blockage since the beginning of the pandemic A year ago. From April 1 to April 5 inclusive, that is, from Holy Thursday to Easter Monday, public, economic and private life will be largely closed to break the third wave of the pandemic.

Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the prime ministers of the federal states decided on Tuesday night. The deliberations dragged on for hours: after massive disputes, the large-scale debate was interrupted between 6.30 pm and 1 am The one that has lasted for months The blockade will last until April 18.

Of the Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday are therefore unique as Days off defined and associated with extensive contact restrictions. “The #WeBleibenZuHause principle applies for five consecutive days,” says the newspaper. According to this, the food trade in the strictest sense should only remain open on Holy Saturday. Private gatherings should be limited to your own home and one other household, but no more than five people. Children up to 14 years old are not counted. Couples are considered one household.

Outdoor catering must close where it is open

According to the decision, gatherings in public spaces are generally prohibited during this period. Where the outdoor catering is already open, it has to be closed again during these five days. Only vaccination and testing centers should remain open.

+++ Read the Corona Summit resolutions in full here +++

Chancellor Merkel sees Germany in a “very, very serious situation” in view of the spread of variants of the virus and the increasing number of infections. The key terms are “caution and flexibility,” Merkel said after consultations with the prime minister concluded.

For Tourists abroad in the event of a general change in the Infection Protection Act Obligation to test before the return flight be featured. It should be a prerequisite for entering Germany.

About Easter vacations should if possible without face-to-face services give. The federal and state governments want to reach out to religious communities with the appropriate request.

In Counties with a seven-day incidence greater than 100 Applicable crown restrictions must be repeated. tight become. This can include exit restrictions, stricter contact restrictions, and the requirement to wear medical masks for passengers, even in private cars.

The federal government is also planning extra help from crown for companies. “For those companies that are particularly affected by closures in the context of the corona pandemic and that have been affected for a long time, the federal government will develop a complementary aid instrument within the framework of European legal requirements,” the decision document says. .

The exact way these additional aids should be viewed was initially left open. Additional programs are conceivable for sectors particularly affected, such as tourism or gastronomy.

During the crisis, the federal government has already decided on aid programs worth billions of dollars. However, business associations repeatedly criticize that aid is too late and that the financing system is too complex. More recently, the federal and state governments agreed to a hardship fund for previously forgotten businesses.

More evidence wanted

For Schoolchildren, teachers and daycare workers I want federal and state Expand crown tests and strive for “two tests per week asap.” Recently, self-assessments have been carried out in schools and nurseries. The distribution and organization varies from region to region, and practical implementation is still being discussed in many places, for example the question of whether testing should be done at home or at school.

These are primarily the easiest tests to use, without deep throat or nasal swabs. In addition, conventional rapid tests are still offered which are performed by trained personnel. Mathematically, with two tests per week for all nursery and school staff, as well as for all students in Germany, more than 20 million tests per week would be required.

Merkel and the Prime Minister did not reach any specific agreement on the organization of the operation of schools and kindergartens, for example on possible closures or other restrictions. The federal states continue to regulate these issues on their own.

Hardest round of negotiations since the outbreak of the pandemic

The resolutions were preceded by the most difficult round of negotiations between the Chancellor and the heads of state governments since the outbreak of the pandemic. The negotiations lasted more than eleven hours, due to a dispute over the so-called “low contact holidays” in his own state, however, the big round was interrupted for hours.

Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate insisted that their citizens should be able to vacation in holiday apartments, holiday homes, apartments, caravans and mobile homes, provided they have their own sanitary facilities. and organize meals themselves can be. There is nothing else to find in the resolution.

Chancellor Merkel was reportedly dissatisfied with the interruption of deliberations. You have argued that the measures taken then were not sufficient to break the dynamics of the infection. This is not how you can survive in public.