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Status: 03.12.2020 1:12 pm
The current restrictions will run until January 10. The federal and state governments have decided. The mood in Lower Saxony fluctuates between approval and fear of the future.
Lower Saxony districts celebrate the decision that Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) made with state leaders on Wednesday. Extending the rules of contact through January is consistent and appropriate, said CEO Hubert Meyer. The number of new infections must be further reduced so that health authorities can trace all contacts again. After deliberations, Chancellor Merkel said that Germany was still “very far” from target values. There were a very high number of fatalities.
“The multi-month lockdown is hard to imagine”
The Association of Towns and Municipalities, however, insists that there must be longer-term prospects once the measures have been extended. “It is difficult to imagine a lockdown lasting several months, which will also continue into early 2021,” said general manager Gerd Landsberg. This applies not only from the perspective of interested companies and the economy, but also from the perspective of people who rightly want to regain “a little normalcy”.
Dehoga expected an extension
The managing director of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) in Lower Saxony is not very surprised by the extension. Rainer Balke hopes that restaurants will be allowed to reopen if Lower Saxony suffers a seven-day incidence of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants earlier. Most of the innkeepers assumed they would not reopen until after January 10, Balke said in an interview with NDR 1 Lower Saxony. Tourism associations on the North Sea coast are now assuming that the economic situation of many restaurants, hotels and service companies will continue to deteriorate. The situation worsens every week that companies have to close, said Ostfriesland Tourismus GmbH spokeswoman Wiebke Leverenz.
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A “catastrophe” for cultural workers
According to spokesman Hans Lochmann, the tough cuts amount to a catastrophe for the Lower Saxony cultural associations working group. This applies especially to independent and private theaters, associations and the many freelancers in the industry. Lochmann also fears cuts in the post-crisis period. Their concern is that the municipalities, the state and the federal government may cut funds in the cultural sector to reduce the high debts of the Crown crisis.
Next federal-state summit scheduled for January 4
According to Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD), the federal and state governments want to set the further course on January 4. Before Christmas, the agreement between the federal and state governments must be reviewed again. “But we still have tough weeks ahead of us,” Weil said. “We urge people to continue to be extremely cautious with their direct contacts and to follow the rules very consistently.” The slight decrease in the number of corona infections observed in Lower Saxony should not be compromised by careless behavior. “Overall, though, I have a cautiously optimistic outlook for next year,” Weil continued. In Lower Saxony, progress is being made, with the number of infections and preparations for vaccines hopefully starting soon.
Strict rules until Christmas
Last week, the federal and state governments agreed to tighten the crown restrictions that have been in place since early November. Currently, only five people from a maximum of two households are allowed to meet. This regulation will be relaxed during the holidays. Meetings of a maximum of ten people are then allowed.
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Crown in Lower Saxony – current reports
