Only five out of two households can reunite: Germany tightens even more

The restrictions imposed in Germany due to the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic will spread and tighten at various points, Berlin announced.

Chancellor Angela Merkel After a 10-hour consultation with provincial heads of government, he said in a late-night briefing that the originally planned restrictions until the end of November would be extended for now. They will consult again in mid-December and, according to human calculations, they will be forced to extend them again, keeping the provisions in force until early January.

Once again, a great joint national effort is needed because only the rapid increase in the number of infections has been stopped and the wave of epidemics has not yet subsided, the chancellor said.

Rules are being tightened so that no more than five people from two households, excluding children under the age of 14, can stay together and wear a mask not only in shops and public transport, but in all crowded places and in all workplaces.

For the holidays, there is some relaxation in the restrictions, from December 23 to January 1, ten people can meet again. Avoid having a lonely Christmas this year, Angela Merkel said.

In the deliberations of the so-called Prime Minister’s Conference (MPK) and the federal government, it was decided, among other things, that the Berlin leadership should act with its European Union partners to stop ski tourism in the community before the January 10, 2021. This will not be easy to achieve, said the Chancellor.

Markus Söder The Prime Minister of Bavaria, the vice president of the MPK, stressed that the epidemic situation remained serious, there had never been more patients in Germany at the same time than these days. Therefore, everyone should contribute to the suppression of the virus.

“It would be very nice if people saw Christmas as a celebration of the family rather than consumption, and also think about cohesion, social solidarity,” said the president of the Christian Social Union (CSU).

By agreement between the MPK and the federal government, restrictions were introduced on November 2 that went beyond basic disease control precautions: use of masks, spacing, frequent hand washing and ventilation.

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Tourism and hospitality have almost completely stopped, so hotels can only receive business guests and restaurants can only cook. The activities of cultural institutions, such as museums, theaters and cinemas, amateur sports associations and other institutions and companies specialized in leisure time have also been suspended. These restrictions will remain in effect until at least December 20.

One of the new measures is to provide members of the most vulnerable groups 15 FFP2 – masks per week for a small amount for the winter months, and 30 of the so-called rapid antigen tests per month, free, for people in need of care permanent due to illness or age.

The rule remains that, as a general rule, especially in a situation without a serious risk of infection, the institutional system of public education and nurseries, most services, retail and wholesale, manufacturing and construction, continue to operate throughout the country .

According to data from the Robert Koch Public Health Institute (RKI) this Wednesday, there have been 410 deaths in the last 24 hours related to the disease caused by the new type of coronavirus. That is a bigger number than ever. The previous record was 315, recorded on April 16, the most severe period of the first wave of infection.

The RKI has received 18,633 positive virus tests in the last 24 hours. That’s almost a thousand more than the 17,561 from the previous week.

There are 27,816 intensive care beds nationwide, of which 5,775 are free.

(MTI)