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Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the prime ministers of the federal states only needed a good hour on Sunday to put the harsh blockade in motion, starting on December 16. It should last until January 10.
But if the measures do not reduce the number of infections significantly, an extension cannot be ruled out. On January 5 there will be another federal-state round. States can adapt the rules nationally on their own, the Berlin Senate met on Sunday afternoon. Here are the resolutions and their effects in detail.
What about the measures that are already in force?
They will last until January 10, especially the closure of restaurants (with the exception of take away sales) and cultural, sports and leisure facilities. Food sold away from home can no longer be consumed on site to prevent accumulation.
In addition, the consumption of alcohol outdoors is prohibited during the entire period of confinement until January 10. Infractions are fined. In Berlin, it is prohibited to serve and sell alcohol between 11 pm and 6 am. The sale of alcohol for immediate consumption, for example mulled wine, is prohibited throughout the day.
How strictly are private gatherings regulated?
Private gatherings are limited to five people over the age of 14 from two households. Children are excluded. On the days of Christmas from December 24 to 26, the federal states can lift the restriction to two households.
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Instead, meetings with up to four people outside of your home will be possible, not including those under 14 years of age. This applies to people from the closest family circle, spouses, civil partners, illegitimate unions, siblings, their children plus household members, and for “straight line relatives”.
Berlin had already announced that it would limit contacts to five people during Christmas and lift the restriction to two households in accordance with national regulation. The additional call is “to reduce contacts in the five to seven days before family reunions to an absolute minimum”; in fact, there is a push for a partial quarantine before a family reunion.
What about New Years Eve?
There will be a nationwide meeting ban on New Years Eve and New Years Day. In addition, the use of fireworks is prohibited in all “popular” places, which are determined by the municipalities.
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However, de facto, firecrackers should generally be avoided by banning the sale of pyrotechnics before New Year’s Eve. We strongly recommend not lighting fireworks when they are still available. In Berlin there will be no other firecracker ban zones than the two known ones on Schöneberger Pallasstrasse and in the north area of Alexanderplatz.
What are the rules of retail?
Retail largely closes its doors on December 16. The exceptions are all stores for daily necessities i.e. grocery retail, weekly grocery markets, direct grocery sellers, pickup and delivery services, beverage stores, health food stores, specialty baby stores, pharmacies, convenience stores of medical supplies, pharmacies, opticians, acoustic hearing aids, service stations, vehicle workshops, bicycle workshops, banks and savings banks.
All other stores and markets are closed until January 10. Christmas tree markets may remain open. Berlin will largely follow the rules of the first lockdown in spring. The bookstores remain open. This also applies to commercial and wholesale craft supplies. Construction and furniture stores have to close.
And the hairdressing salons and similar services?
Body closure services must also close: hair salons, massage parlors, tattoo studios, and similar businesses. Medically oriented practices such as podiatry or physical therapists can be opened.
How does it affect schools and nurseries?
Berlin kindergartens will not close from Wednesday, but will offer emergency care. The Senate urges all parents to bring their children to daycare only if absolutely necessary. Nurseries are closed between Christmas and New Years anyway. First, it was said that Berlin’s kindergartens should, unlike the federal-state resolution, remain open, combined with an urgent call on parents to care for their children at home if possible. The education administration later corrected this and changed “care” to “emergency care.”
Berlin schools will be closed from next Wednesday for face-to-face classes until January 10. Emergency care is offered for the primary level and distance education. Schools should still be able to complete class work that has already been scheduled before Christmas. The respective teacher decides that. Exams will be conducted.
What is expected of companies?
Whenever possible, companies should take a company vacation or offer generous home office solutions to their employees until January 10. However, this is not a requirement, but a request.
How are services restricted?
Church services are permitted subject to conditions such as minimum distance, mask requirement, and waiver of singing. A registration requirement may be required for visitors.
What applies to nursing homes and retirement homes?
Protection measures are being increased in homes for the elderly and the elderly. In Berlin, two million tests were distributed to nursing homes. Nursing staff are required to undergo regular testing. Visitors to Berlin nursing homes must also have a current corona negative test or get tested on site.
Will travel be restricted?
Travel is not prohibited, but there is a call to stop unnecessary domestic and international travel. The quarantine regulations are maintained for entries from risk areas. It amounts to ten days of quarantine, which can end after five days with a negative test.
How are affected companies supported?
Financial support to closed and self-employed companies will be expanded. The new bridging aid already decided by the federal government to cover fixed costs, scheduled until June 2021, will therefore be increased to a maximum of 500,000 euros per company per month.
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However, as a general rule, the amount of the refund is up to 200,000 euros. Fixed cost reimbursement should also be based on declining sales compared to 2019. Businesses that are only indirectly affected by closures and therefore have less revenue should be able to request money. The costs of this are estimated at around eleven billion euros per month. Scholz noted that the budget for 2021 includes a total of more than 60 billion euros for funds that have been approved and can still be approved.
The loss of value of the goods should be able to be absorbed by special rules of depreciation. To ease the burden of rentals and leases, a regulation is introduced according to which restrictions can represent a major change in the business base. This would make reductions possible for tenants and tenants.
How is retail reacting?
At no point do retailers earn as much as they did in the days leading up to Christmas. The trade association (HDE) now estimates that sales will collapse by 60 percent due to the end of December. Business owners would have to give up a total of twelve billion euros in revenue.
Grocery stores, which will remain open, are excluded from this bill. “The fact that many retailers now have to close in the middle of the holiday business, the time of year with the highest turnover, hits the industry and city centers hard,” says HDE CEO Stefan Genth.
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In his opinion, the bridging aid promised by the federal government is insufficient. They only cover fixed costs like rent. Genth, for its part, requires that retailers also be compensated for a part of their sales, as is the case in the restaurant sector today. “If we are heavily forcing the main industry in our urban centers into bankruptcy with retail, it will not be easy to fix after the crisis,” Genth said.
What are the economic consequences of the ban on firecrackers?
Firecracker and rocket makers also fear bankruptcy. When in doubt, the entire branch is threatened with bankruptcy, explained Thomas Schreiber, director of the Pyrotechnic Industry Association. The association demands full compensation for lost sales in the triple-digit million range.
With the industry generating 95 percent of its annual revenue in December, the association’s lawyers feared that companies would miss out on bridging aid. “We need separate relief funds to secure the livelihoods of 3,000 people in the industry,” Schreiber explained. Which compounds the situation: fireworks are a commission business. The business does not have to pay for the rockets and firecrackers that they have ordered and now cannot sell. Only the manufacturers have the damage.
How do economists rate the measures?
Leading economists support the measures. Ifo President Clemens Fuest tweeted: “The strict lockdown is also economically correct because many businesses and schools close for Christmas anyway. The blockade can be understood as an investment. “Without him, there is the threat of an even harsher and more prolonged lockdown since mid-January,” Fuest said.
Marcel Fratzscher, director of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), also considers that the closure is “correct and expired”. He says: “Politicians now have to create a high level of buy-in for this to stop the second wave, because a shutdown after January 10 would cause considerable economic damage.”
