Summit resolution motion: countries want to extend partial blockade until December 20 – Berlin



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The partial blockade will be extended according to a proposal from Berlin, the country that chairs the Prime Minister’s Conference, due to continued high crown numbers. Berlin Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) telephoned prime ministers from most other countries over the weekend to present a coordinated proposal with the chancellor on Wednesday before the Crown summit. This draft resolution is available to the Tagesspiegel.

The countries governed by the SPD and the countries governed by the CDU and CSU are reportedly not that far apart. There are probably more country-specific wishes, regardless of the ruling party.

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An overview of the expected resolutions:

Extension of the partial confinement

In principle, the currently applicable measures will remain in force until December 20. This affects, for example, the closure of hotels, restaurants or gyms. Citizens should continue to stay at home if possible and also work there and refrain from trips and excursions.

In order to react adequately to special regional situations, countries with an incidence of less than 35 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days and a trend of decreasing incidence have the option of deviating from this.

A maximum number of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants is set as a goal within seven days. If a country does not achieve this goal, there will be a 14-day extension of the measures. Otherwise, the opening steps must be completed by December 21.

Tightening of measures

There should be additional rules between December 1 and January 17. Countries below the threshold of 50 can deviate from this. Consequently, private meetings are limited to a maximum of five people from two households. Children up to 14 years old are exempt from this.

A mask should be worn in closed rooms accessible to the public, as well as on public transport, in work and production facilities, and in public outdoor spaces where many people can be found. The national quarantine for returning travelers and contact persons should be standardized and set within ten days.

Exceptions for Christmas

According to the draft, more than five people and more than two households should be allowed on the Christmas holidays. Self-quarantine for several days is recommended for the post-vacation period. “With this regulation, Christmas should also be possible in this special year as a celebration with family and friends, albeit on a smaller scale,” says the newspaper.

Arrangements must be made with the churches for the next celebrations; the guideline should be to avoid large religious services.

New Year Eve

It is not yet clear whether New Year’s Eve celebrations with five or ten people from more than two households are possible this year. The proposed resolution establishes in parentheses that the Christmas rules can be applied until January 3; there is still no agreement on this.

However, it has already been clearly stated that there should be no fireworks. Selling, buying and even switching on should be prohibited in order to relieve emergency services, not to further overload the health system and to avoid the formation of groups.

schools

As long as the crown situation does not relax, the seventh graders in Germany should also wear masks in class in the future. This should apply to students in schools and vocational schools in regions with significantly more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within 7 days, which is currently the case in many places. Schools without corona cases can be excluded from this.

The proposed resolution also proposes a testing strategy for schools: if a case of corona occurs in a class, both it and the teachers concerned must be quarantined for five days. On the fifth day there should be a quick test for everyone. If the result is negative, the class can return to school.

“In order to apply this effective testing strategy across the board, the federal government (through the federal states) will make additional capabilities available for antigen testing,” the document says.

The exact design of other measures, such as the question of whether schools revert to alternative education, is left to the Länder in the proposal. However, school trips and international exchanges should remain strictly prohibited. It is also recommended to stagger the start of lessons to match school traffic.

Digital teaching in colleges and universities will continue with the exception of laboratory activities, internships and exams.

Subsidies

State aid will be extended to companies affected by the closure, the self-employed and associations. For areas that are expected to have significant restrictions on business operations in the coming months, federal states require the federal government to extend bridging aid until mid-2021, for example, for the cultural and events industry, the self-employed. and the travel industry. The federal government should also look at tax subsidies for compulsory health insurance.with dpa / AFP)

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