But the unity was not quite that far, especially the liberals were not happy about the statement. And so the Greens later made it clear that the traffic light about the compulsory vaccination will first be discussed in a separate procedure, regardless of the pending change to the Infection Protection Act.
Since the SPD, Greens and FDP announced almost three weeks ago that they would let the epidemic situation of national scope come to an end on November 25, they have been struggling to cushion the undesirable consequences. Because tough but effective measures to combat pandemics, such as curfews or lockdowns, would then no longer be possible without further ado. Which would be in a certain contradiction to the rapidly increasing number of infections in the country.
The federal states should now retain the option to impose contact restrictions in the public and private sectors or to limit the number of participants at events. In addition, the SPD, Greens and FDP want to introduce a 3G rule, as it should apply in the future at work, in the future in local and long-distance transport. Only those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who have tested negative are allowed to use buses and trains.
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A joint paper by the parliamentary groups provides for further changes to the Infection Protection Act, which the Bundestag should finally discuss on Thursday. There are also plans to reintroduce the obligation to work from home for office workers.
The traffic light groups, however, remain with the fact that there should no longer be exit restrictions, travel and accommodation bans or lockdowns in the catering or retail sector in the future. The Liberals in particular had urged this – with the reference that exit restrictions had already been overturned by the courts as disproportionate.
Without a test: “No entitlement to payment or home office”
Doubts about the effectiveness of these plans were raised on Monday at a hearing in the Bundestag. “What is currently planned, only 2G, 3G in the public sector, will not be enough to bring the number of cases down,” warned the physicist Viola Priesemann from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen. This is due, for example, to the fact that most of the contacts take place in private and that there are connections between vaccinated and unvaccinated people through schools and workplaces.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 23,607 new corona cases within 24 hours on Monday – 8094 more than a week ago. The nationwide seven-day incidence, i.e. the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, exceeded the 300 mark for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic at 303. In Saxony, which is particularly affected, the RKI determined an incidence of 754. The number of corona patients in intensive care units has risen to 3,173.
At the hearing, the employers’ association BDA criticized the fact that many of the legislative plans were still far too unclear to be able to provide meaningful and substantial advice and assessments, as their statement shows. The president of the chemical employers’ association BAVC, Kai Beckmann, said that if a 3G regulation comes into operation, it must also be designed in a legally secure manner: “Anyone who does not want to be tested as an unvaccinated person has no right to payment or home office. That must be clearly regulated in the law, ”demanded Beckmann.
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) raised concerns that it was unclear what parameters should be used to determine the risk situation at state level in the future. In his statement, however, he welcomed the fact that parents should continue to be entitled to Corona children’s sickness benefit until March 19, 2022 if daycare centers or schools have to close due to a pandemic.
The acting Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Christine Lambrecht (SPD) warned of renewed area-wide school closings: “Schools and daycare centers must remain open so that psychological stress, loneliness, lack of exercise and learning delays do not increase even further.”
The planned 3G rule in passenger traffic met with criticism. “The impact would be significant. The traffic light chaos can turn into traffic chaos, ”warned the managing minister of transport, Andreas Scheuer (CSU). The vice-chairman of the railway and transport union (EVG), Martin Burkert, called for close agreements with the federal police in order to be able to guarantee the controls.
Constitutional lawyer: The end of the epidemic situation is pointless
In general, the criticism that the traffic light groups want to let the epidemic situation of national scope come to an end at all does not stop. “The new draft is better than the original draft, but it doesn’t bring anything new, it just shortens the scope for action,” said Bielefeld constitutional lawyer Franz Mayer to the Handelsblatt. Therefore, the Infection Protection Act should rather remain as it is.
“The fire brigade throws parts of their equipment into the fire in the middle of a mission,” criticizes Mayer. The impression remains that party politics and clientele interests prevail in an existential emergency.
Constitutional lawyer Ulrich Battis described the approach of the traffic light parties as “pure symbolic politics”. “From a legal point of view, it makes no sense not to prolong the determination of the epidemic situation of national scope,” he told the Handelsblatt. The prerequisites for this are unreservedly given. The fact that countries, for example, are no longer allowed to order restaurant closings in the future, is more than problematic. “In view of the number of infections we cannot disarm”, warned Battis – and accused the traffic light of an “absolute false start”.
The legal policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Jan-Marco Luczak (CDU), would have also wished for an extension of the epidemic situation, but welcomes the tightening now planned by the SPD, Greens and FDP: “After massive public pressure, the traffic light is still on came to insight and did not allow himself to be taken hostage by the FDP’s misunderstood understanding of freedom, ”said Luczak to the Handelsblatt.
63 percent of citizens for lockdown for the unvaccinated
He consistently called a lockdown for unvaccinated people, as Austria introduced it. “The majority of the people in our country are vaccinated, the preservation of their freedom must also be constitutionally weighted more heavily than that of the unvaccinated,” emphasized the CDU politician.
The pressure on those who do not want to be vaccinated is increasing. The future government is pushing for stricter measures to protect the population.
(Photo: ddp / Sven Simon)
According to a Yougov survey on behalf of the Handelsblatt, 63 percent of German citizens recommend the Austrian step towards imitation in this country as well. On the other hand, 32 percent consider a temporary lockdown for unvaccinated people to be wrong.
Negotiations will be held in the next few days as to whether there should be compulsory tests for nursing staff or kindergarten teachers in the end. Verdi boss Frank Werneke warned the traffic light groups against actionism.
“The vaccination rate in areas such as nursing, health care and daycare centers is very high in relation to the average of the population, said Werneke. “If people now think about compulsory vaccination, it will not result in significantly more people being vaccinated, but rather that even more people will leave their jobs.”
More: Söder calls for stricter legislation: “Are defenseless against Corona”.