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Status: March 21, 2021 2:00 pm
In Germany, an extension of the lockdown measures until April is increasingly likely. The states governed by the SPD have prepared a corresponding draft resolution for the federal-state meeting.
In the peak federal-state consultations on Monday, the continuation of the current crown blockade until April will be decided. This arises from the draft resolution proposal for the meeting, which was developed by the federal states led by the SPD and which is available to various media. However, it does not yet contain an exact date for the end of the measurements.
The draft does not foresee new general opening steps. Rather, it refers to the “newly strong infection process and exponential dynamics.” However, countries and regions should be able to initiate “temporary model projects” in order to “open up individual areas of public life with strict protection measures and a trial concept”.
The “consistent testing regimen” is yet to come
They should examine the “feasibility of opening steps using a consistent testing regimen.” “The core conditions here are negative test results as access criteria, IT-supported processes for contact tracing and possibly also for testing tests, spatial delineation at the municipal level, and feedback close to the public health service,” says the template. .
The federal government should support such opening steps by assuming the costs of supervised self-assessments, a prerequisite for citizens to take advantage of certain offers in open areas. To do this, the test regulations must be changed, it says in the template.
Testing and quarantine requirements for returning travelers
A general obligation to test and quarantine travelers returning from abroad will be introduced, regardless of the infection rate in the country of travel. According to the draft, the federal government should adjust the relevant ordinances by the end of March, before the Easter holidays. Mobility must “remain restricted and reduced to what is absolutely necessary,” says the newspaper.
In addition, the possibility of citizens traveling to their own federal state is being considered according to the principle of “low contact holidays”. The prerequisites are “compliance with applicable contact restrictions, strict hygiene requirements, and implementation of a testing regimen.” This passage from the draft is bracketed, indicating that there is still a need for coordination between the federal government and the states.
The SPD-led states also propose a “special federal program” for tourism and related areas, which should go beyond previous aid programs. This special program could be started if “the epidemiological situation does not allow an economically relevant opening at Easter”, as the proposal says.
New workplace adjustment plans
The SPD countries are also striving to adopt new measures in the field of work and occupation. In areas where it is not possible to work at home, “it is mandatory to wear medical masks whenever there are several people in a room,” the draft says. The federal government will include this obligation in the Corona Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance.
Additionally, employers must offer their employees at least two quick tests a week in face-to-face operations. The federal government wants to create a framework “on the basis of which employers can issue appropriate test certificates” by the end of March, according to the bill.
The draft has not yet been agreed
The draft has not yet been coordinated with the Foreign Ministry and the other federal states. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Helge Braun, announced on Twitter that the newspaper did not come from the Foreign Ministry, as some media had already reported. On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the prime minister want to make decisions on additional crown policy. Opinions still differ widely, as the statements of various politicians show.
