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Hamburg limits private meetings to ten people
| Reading time: 4 minutes
This is how Mayor Tschentscher reacts to the situation in the crown
The city of Hamburg is now officially a corona risk area. The seven-day incidence on Friday was 52.8. At a press conference, he explains the consequences of Mayor Tschentscher.
In view of the rapid spread of the corona virus, Hamburg will face further restrictions. Private gatherings are even more strictly regulated. Only ten people should be allowed to gather.
WFaced with the massive increase in new corona infections, Hamburg’s red-green Senate has tightened contact restrictions for city citizens once again. As of Monday, according to a decision taken on Friday, only a maximum of ten people from two households will be allowed to meet in the private sector and in gastronomy. The only exceptions are for mixed families and children under the age of twelve. This regulation will initially apply until the end of November.
Also, the Senate canceled the Winter Cathedral and a decision on the Christmas markets had not yet been made. Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) wants to make a statement from the government to the public on Wednesday.
The health authority had previously reported 360 new infections registered in one day. With 276 new corona infections, the highest value since the start of the pandemic in March was set on Thursday. The value of seven days per 100,000 inhabitants was below the critical value of 50 at the weekend, but has now risen to 75.1 in a few days.
“This is not the time to celebrate”
“This dynamic must slow down,” Tschentscher said, also in view of the growing number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals. “That is why we decided today (…) that we want / have to limit private celebrations and gatherings in our own apartment, in a private space, but also in public to ten people from two households.” In a pandemic, such a restriction has already been shown to break the chains of infection.
There are exceptions for “family relationships of any kind,” Tschentscher said. In the case of mixed families, for example, there are likely to be more than two households. The same applies to children. Social senator Melanie Leonhard (SPD) spoke in this context of a “Lex kids birthday party.” According to this, up to ten children under the age of twelve can be brought together from various households. “The important thing is that it relates to the children,” Leonhard said.
Mayor Tschentscher emphasized: “Of course, the clear message that there is no time to celebrate applies. But that’s not just the problem. We also have to limit the number of contacts ”. That is why there are practically no exceptions and they apply not only to celebrations but to all kinds of meetings. Otherwise the rule could not be implemented at all. “How is that supposed to work in practice? It’s still skat night, then it’s beer night, and all of a sudden it becomes a celebration, “said Tschentscher.
Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) announced controls and fines in case of violations, but did not say anything about the amount. Police will not call the burgers to find out if there are more than 10 people in the apartment, Grote said. “But whenever we have leads or when an incident in an apartment attracts the attention of the police, of course we will investigate.”
He also announced an expansion of the ban on serving alcohol early in the morning. After curfew, which lasts until 5 am, alcohol cannot be served until 10 am. This is aimed at the late-night clubs, whose business model brings something different. “There is no reason to keep the restaurant closed, but alcohol is not allowed,” the senator said.
“There will be no more running of the bulls like in spring (…)”, promised Tschentscher. Knowledge about the pandemic is now too great. However, the situation remains critical because the virus is highly contagious and young people in particular have many contacts. Hence the contact restrictions. Tschentscher did not rule out the possibility of further restrictions.
“It is important to us that we can save the next few months well,” Tschentscher said. Especially for the holiday season, expect the regulations to satisfy the desire to celebrate the holidays properly. “But to create such a situation, we have to make these decisions now.”
Economic Affairs Senator Michael Westhagemann (independent) lamented the cancellation of the Winter Cathedral. “The decision to cancel was extremely difficult for everyone involved,” he said. Because there was a concept of differentiated protection that could have reduced the risk of contagion with the previous number of infections even with several thousand visitors. “This residual risk, of which we are all aware, has now become too great in view of the general situation,” Westhagemann said.
