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The “Shutdown Light” will be applied in Germany from next Monday; people face the toughest cuts since the country came to a complete standstill in March. Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) puts it in a nutshell: a “bitter pill” for citizens.
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Many rules are clear: all on-site catering, for example, will be closed, while schools and nurseries will remain open, for the time being. However, questions remain that refer to a gray area. Most sports and travel opportunities have been canceled. But there are exceptions.
Can I keep playing tennis or riding horses now?
The vast majority of leisure facilities are closed. This applies to swimming pools and fitness studios, for example, but also to amateur sports in general. Therefore, team sports such as soccer, handball or hockey should be avoided.
At the same time, the so-called “individual sport” is allowed. This, of course, includes jogging. The German Golf Association (DGV), for example, assumes an exception for golf. But sports played in pairs should be possible, as long as the public or private sports facility is not closed. So that people could continue playing tennis, doing gymnastics or martial arts outdoors. But with the November weather, not everything can be so easy to implement.
It is also not entirely clear how the exceptions for individual sport will be designed in concrete terms. The federal states have yet to convert their resolutions as of Wednesday into ordinances. The German Equestrian Association, for example, is confident. “We are committed to treating equestrian sport in the sense of an individual sport”, explains the General Secretary of the Association, Soenke Lauterbach. “Unfortunately, this cannot be applied to group hopping.”
Dance enthusiasts should also prepare for a break: According to the association, Corona’s new requirements are a blow to dance schools. “You could also speak of a shock,” said Heidi Schumacher of the General Association of German Dance Teachers (ADTV). Dance teachers are disappointed that they have not been able to avoid next week’s renewed closures, despite the concepts of hygiene and distance.
How can I travel to Germany?
Traveling is not prohibited in Germany per se. The only question is where to spend the night. Because there is a general accommodation ban in Germany. No exception is made to this, even if the corona test is negative.
However, it is good for consumers that they can withdraw from the reservation free of charge and even claim a refund of advances. The Federation of German Consumer Organizations warns that vacationers should refer to the so-called “impossibility of execution.”
In theory, you can stay with family and friends. It is not prohibited, but it is not recommended either. Experts, as well as the federal state governments and the federal government, have repeatedly and clearly called for them to stay home and reduce contacts as much as possible.
Chancellor Angela Merkel says, for example, that the goal of the new measures is a “systematic reduction of contacts.” She explicitly mentioned a 75 percent reduction. This is the only way to reduce the risk of infection. Therefore, people are generally asked to refrain from private trips and visits, even from family members, unless absolutely necessary.
[„Wir befinden uns nicht im Ausnahmezustand“, sagt der Verfassungsrechtler Oliver Lepsius. Lesen Sie hier ein Gespräch über die Rechtmäßigkeit der deutschen Corona-Politik.]
But there is a small ray of hope for gloomy November: regionally limited day trips are still allowed, for example to the nearby forest. And in Berlin at least, the outdoor facilities of the zoo and the animal park (but not the animal houses) remain open.
Can my child play with friends?
What generally applies to adults naturally also applies to children: throughout the month of November, children should not play with other people at home. Outside they can be together in any number up to twelve years, but not in any composition: they must belong to a “joint group of supervision and teaching.” So they will continue to have social contacts. Because kindergartens, nurseries and schools remain open.
However, the bottom line is that the financial damage caused by parental absence from work must be avoided. And: If the infection situation worsens locally, schools or nurseries may also be closed.
Will the playgrounds stay open?
Playgrounds are not explicitly mentioned in the government decision. This also applies to adult education centers and music schools. So there has been a certain lack of clarity here. However, at least for the playgrounds, it can be assumed that they will remain open until further notice. Of course, the rules of distance and hygiene also apply here. And that people should reduce their social contacts by 75 percent if possible.
Can I buy as usual?
During the big shutdown in March, most of the time only grocery stores were open, and based on regional regulations, hardware stores or bike shops were also open. This time, the wholesale and retail trade is generally open. But, of course, hygiene requirements apply.
And there is another restriction: to avoid queues, access must be more tightly controlled again. There should be no more than one customer in ten square meters of sales area. The federal government’s draft resolution originally referred to 25 square meters.
This new ten square meter rule differs from the March requirements. At that time, only department stores with a sales area of no more than 800 square meters were allowed to open. Later, in Berlin, for example, a maximum of one customer was required for every 20 square meters of sales area.
As a result, the new ten square meter rule as of Monday means: When store personnel recount shopping baskets and carts, there could be queues again in front of the stores, right outside the door in November weather.
