[ad_1]
After some states have already pulled out again, the federal government is calling for a restrictive implementation of the extended school closings decided yesterday. When it comes to border controls, they first want to talk to their EU partners.
The federal government has asked federal states to adhere to federal-state round agreements to extend school and daycare closures until mid-February. “The federal government is assuming this will be implemented,” said deputy government spokeswoman Martina Fietz. It had been expressly agreed to continue with the current closures until February 14 – “and with a restrictive approach.”
Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann announced after the main round Tuesday evening that he would check whether primary schools and kindergartens could gradually reopen from the beginning of February. “If the infection situation allows,” Baden-Württemberg wants to move closer to a cautious opening, the green politician said.
Similar considerations also exist in other federal states, for example in Rhineland-Palatinate. Lower Saxony even opened primary schools on Monday, with an alternative teaching model. The state has now corrected its course: Elementary school students are now exempt from compulsory attendance, but school attendance is still possible. Facilities elsewhere are not completely closed either. Only the recommendation was made to leave the children at home.
Attendance hours also for final classes
There are also exceptions for graduation classes: Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder said that from February 1, alternate classes should take place for students of graduation classes and the Abitur with the appropriate intervals. This is justified because it only affects a small proportion of students.
Saxony, which was severely affected by the pandemic, also announced that it would adhere to the regulation already in place there, that is, face-to-face classes would be offered.
“No one made these decisions lightly”
Fietz referred, as before to Chancellor Angela Merkel, to signs that the mutated variant of the corona virus is spreading more widely among children and adolescents than the previous virus. Therefore, also in this area a “precautionary action” is necessary.
It is clear to the federal government that the extension of the closures would mean “tough cuts for millions of children and youth.” “No one made these decisions lightly,” Fietz said. However, they are necessary to further contain the pandemic. School closures were the most controversial topic in yesterday’s federal and state consultations.
Unprepared for border checks
In the face of border controls raised yesterday after the federal-state change, the federal government has not yet been activated, according to a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior. There are no “concrete preparations” for it. Resolutions by the federal and state governments showed the government wanted to avoid further entry restrictions, the spokesperson said. Expect the EU deliberations on Thursday night.
Chancellor Merkel had previously asked neighboring EU states to better coordinate the fight against the corona virus with Germany. Otherwise, border controls would have to be introduced in an emergency to prevent the virus from spreading.
The Bundestag wants to grapple with the crown strategy
When asked how the lockdown will continue from mid-February, medical representatives offered little hope. “In our opinion, mid-February will not be enough to lower the high incidence figures,” Gernot Marx, the president of the Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, told the newspapers of the Germany publishing network. The intensive care units are full, he added.
With current measures, it will take until late February or early March just to bring the number of patients back to the level that was recorded at the height of the first corona wave in spring.
In the coming week, the Bundestag is also expected to take up the Corona strategy again. Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus announced an agreed debate. “We will take care of that a lot,” said the CDU politician.
