Corona Summit with Merkel: strict lockdown and new rules in Germany?

The Crown summit with Angela Merkel (CDU) and the heads of the countries should take place on Sunday. Chancellor Merkel wants to connect with the prime ministers of the federal states on Sunday due to the increasing number of infections, once again. The general tenor this time: a tough lockdown is needed before Christmas. Read here: When is Angela Merkel’s press conference after the Corona summit?

The drama of the dizzying number of new infections and deaths from Covid-19 brought many politicians in front of the cameras in recent days.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) performed together in Nuremberg against the backdrop of a mobile vaccination station. In Stuttgart, the father of the green field Winfried Kretschmann looked even more wrinkled when he announced exit restrictions for the country.

Coronavirus: the most important news at a glance

In Düsseldorf, NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) raised the alarm. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) warned during a video call with citizens that urgent measures must be taken: “The situation is extremely serious.” Everyone must fight the virus. Deputy Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz called for a speedy shutdown and closure of retail and schools in the coming days.

Blocking light has failed – what crown rules are tightening?

All decision makers share the fear of losing control. The last optimist now has in writing that the mild partial lock has failed. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported nearly 30,000 new infections and nearly 600 deaths since the previous day. The numbers will not go down by themselves. Vaccines would take months to take effect.

Also interesting:Merkel agrees with Germany with a tough blockade of the crown

Read also:Germany in crisis: how long will the winter lockdown last?

But when is there a strict lockdown? Won’t it until after Christmas to keep local retailers doing billion-a-day business? Or to close everything a little earlier, that is, on the fourth Advent on December 20, as suggested by the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), to give stores and consumers at least a short period? of grace before the inevitable?

Seriously ill and dying people in intensive care units against job destruction and social hardship – not an easy consideration. The federal and state governments have already bet on a rapid turnaround: “We shouldn’t be fooling ourselves: patient numbers will remain high one way or another in the spring,” said Christian Karagiannidis of the Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI). Does sheer numbers put the wary ones in the district on the defensive?

Procrastination would not only be negligent, Söder said on the record, but “guilty”, because you know what to do. If necessary, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg would act alone in the southwest. Laschet, who is always concerned with measure and means, does not like to wait this long. He called for a “totally German answer”: “The closure must happen as soon as possible.”

That would mean: from this Monday or Wednesday at the latest. Will people break into stores in a panic by then? Will last minute Christmas shopping become a high-profile event? Söder, the chancellor and mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller (SPD), as the main coordinator of the federal states, wanted to advise whether the crown crisis summit would take place on Saturday or Sunday. These measurements are in the room:

Crown Lock for Retail

It is being discussed whether retail will close nationwide on December 14, 16 or not until December 20. Distributors should be compensated for this, but not in the full amount of lost sales, as has been the case with the restaurant and cultural scene since November. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) don’t want to interfere. According to information from our editorial team, the maximum amount of financing for bridging aid that companies can receive per month will go from 200,000 to 500,000 euros. This could cover running costs. Scholz estimates expenses from 4 to 8 billion euros for a two-week lockdown and up to 15 billion euros for four weeks.

Many shops in Saxony will be closed from Monday. Thereafter a harter lock. The Thuringian state government recently decided that commercial and service companies, with the exception of businesses for basic needs, “unless the Conference of Ministers-Presidents makes some prior arrangement”, should close by the end of December 18. If you go to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, the shops are in fourth weekend of Advent close.

The retail trade fears that the city centers will be extinguished by another total lockdown: “We fear that we will end up in a situation without prospects for weeks or months of lockdown,” warned the president of the German Association of Retailers (HDE), Josef Sanktjohanser.

Christmas visits

Larger family celebrations under the tree are likely to be a thing of the past in many places. Several countries want to return to strict contact conditions, instead of just five people from two households. Much has been said about the “nuclear family.” This could affect Christmas trips across national borders. These would only be allowed for parents, children and grandparents. It is still being talked about.

The relaxation of contact restrictions originally planned for the December 23-January 1 period has already been limited in some countries. Schleswig-Holstein goes even further: there are only supposed to be maximum of five people two households can meet in public and in private, as Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) announced on Friday.

New Year Eve

A national ban on firecrackers and night-out restrictions like in France are approaching. Bans on alcohol and parties have already been issued in many regions.

Read about it:Prime Minister Günther calls for no New Year celebrations to be held

Schools and nurseries: holidays, alternate classes, closings

The ministers of education of the federal states prepare for the Schools closed have to keep spreading the Corona-Pandemie to slow down. If the presiding ministers decide on a strict closure at the weekend, the education ministers would be “also ready to do our part,” said the president of the Permanent Conference (KMK) and the Rhineland-Palatinate education minister. Stefanie hubig, on Friday during the last regular session of this year.

If necessary, then you must Limitations of regular operation give in schools. However, according to the KMK, these should be as short as possible. Some countries had already announced that they would limit face-to-face teaching from the seventh or eighth grade.

Crown – More information on the subject

North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower saxony will suspend school attendance as of December 14. It is not yet clear whether there will be uniform regulation at the national level. More recently, there were always regulations on school operations at the Corona summit Dispute points state.

As it is in the field of Day care centers the looks are not clear. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Prime Minister Schwesig said the nurseries would have to stay open until the start of the holiday. In Saxony they close at the beginning of the week.

Read also:Drosten on the confinement: “I really have to do something now”

Corona Summit: Will travel restrictions be decided between years?

Travel is not expressly recommended yet, but in principle it is not prohibited to travel to another federal state. But the issue could come up at the federal-state meeting. Hotels in Germany are not yet allowed overnight tourist guests start.

Federal states handle differently whether it is possible to stay in hotels, holiday apartments or guesthouses when visiting families during the Christmas period: for example, North Rhine-Westphalia had announced that this would be for Visiting family it’s possible. Schleswig-Holstein rowed again on Friday; No hotel stays are allowed there for family members visiting during Christmas. Read here: Christmas at the hotel: these federal states allow it

Crown – More on the topic

New federal-state meeting: are curfews planned throughout Germany?

A clear trend that the Freedom of movement There is currently no indication that this is further restricted. Curfews currently only exist in individual districts in Germany. The following will change starting next week:

Baden-Württemberg intends to introduce a night curfew and daytime exit restrictions early next week, as the German press agency in Stuttgart learned on Thursday after a conversation between the green-black state government and the organizations municipal umbrellas. Whoever leaves home during the day should only do so with one good reason do for work.

Saxony you are currently planning a curfew between 10 pm and 6 am The curfew should apply from next Monday through January 10, 2021. There should be exceptions for Christmas and New Years Eve. However, some countries explicitly spoke out against the curfew. Read here:Exit restrictions apply in these cities and districts

If the federal government will interfere here, for example, also in the question of whether in public alcohol can be consumed – not yet clear. Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) warned: uniform crown regulations nationwide to decide in case of a total lockdown.

Christmas mass and nativity scene: what about the churches?

What a difficult blockade for the churches and for them Christmas services it probably means, it is currently little discussed. Until now, only hygiene and distance rules apply here, so the number of visitors to the church is usually limited. In spring, however, the houses of worship had to close their doors; services were often closed Superspreader-Events become.

The President of the Council of the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD), Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, has already expressed understanding for stricter contact regulations during the Christmas holidays. “If strict lockdown is necessary to protect human life and limit the spread of the virus, then I think we cannot avoid tight lockdown,” Bedford-Strohm told ARD magazine “Kontraste.”

(tb / bml / with dpa)