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14-day quarantine: This is what returnees traveling in Germany have to expect. A court in Lower Saxony is now taking out relevant paragraphs of state regulation. And there are also criticisms of quarantine in politics.
The Lower Administrative Court of Lower Saxony has temporarily suspended the general quarantine obligation for people entering Germany from abroad. This was announced by the judicial authority last night. The decision refers to a paragraph of the Lower Saxony Ordinance on protective measures against infection against the spread of the coronavirus on May 8. The decision was final.
Therefore, the judges granted the urgent request of the owner of a holiday home in Sweden. After returning to the country, the man does not have to enter the fourteen-day quarantine for returnees that is actually prescribed. So far, the only exception to the quarantine rule has been people who enter with a special permit, such as those who travel daily.
“Freedom restricted to a significant degree”
The judges of the Superior Administrative Court argue that the Infection Protection Law only allows regulation by ordinance if certain conditions are met. This law only establishes the quarantine for certain people, such as the sick or suspected of being sick. With regard to the global number of cases, which must be compared with the world population, even if a large number of unreported cases are taken into account, a foreigner arriving from abroad cannot be considered a general suspect of disease or contagion.
The freedom of people in quarantine is significantly restricted. The judges argued that it was possible, however, to identify areas of risk by law that justified quarantine. Alternatively, the state could compel people arriving from abroad to immediately report to relevant infection control authorities. These could take action, for example through surveys and / or tests.
Federal state quarantine regulations are based on model regulations jointly developed by the federal and state governments. However, the precise design and application of quarantine regulation rests with the decision-making powers of each individual federal state.
Laschet to loosen
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Armin Laschet called in the Rheinische Post for a comprehensive relaxation of the quarantine obligation for returnees from other European countries and reiterated his call for the German borders to be opened quickly.
As a justification, he referred to the end of the confinement in France, where people have had much more freedom since Monday and are allowed to leave the house without good reason. It has hurt for weeks, says the CDU politician, that the European bridge between Kehl and Strasbourg is closed. “It is also painful that you, of all people, cannot go to Schengen through the Moselle and the flags fly at half-staff.”
Yesterday, the CDU Presidium also spoke in favor of opening borders to neighboring countries quickly, but maintaining security standards. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer recently said there was an agreement in the federal government to continue border controls until May 15. The next steps will be decided in the course of the week.
