The rapid tests remain free for everyone who cannot be vaccinated, including children under 12 years of age.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin New month, new rules. This also applies to October, which begins at the end of the week. The German population will experience these innovations from October:
Quarantine and rapid tests
Unvaccinated people are normally no longer compensated for loss of earnings due to an ordered corona quarantine. There is no nationwide uniform start date, but the federal states want to implement this regulation in the course of October. In the federal-state resolution, November 1, 2021 is provided as the latest date.
As early as October 11, rapid tests, which unvaccinated people often need to access restaurants or events, usually have to be paid for themselves. They are generally free for anyone who cannot be vaccinated, including children under 12 years of age.
Energy cost comparison
From October 1st, larger filling stations are obliged to display a cost comparison of various energy sources such as petrol, diesel, electricity, natural gas or hydrogen in euros per 100 kilometers at fuel pumps or in the sales room. The new rules are intended to help sensitize consumers to alternative drives.
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Newborn screening
From October 1st, the screening will be expanded to include rare congenital diseases in babies in the first days of life. In the future, it will also include sickle cell disease, in which red blood cells are crooked in the shape of a sickle and cannot transport oxygen as well. The screening now also includes spinal muscular atrophy at health insurance costs, in which motor nerve cells in the spinal cord die off.
Hepatitis tests
From October 1st, legally insured persons aged 35 and over have the right to be tested once for the viral diseases hepatitis B and hepatitis C. This offer is a new component of the health check-up, which can be done every three years.
stalking
Anyone who regularly ambushes another person or harasses them repeatedly ends up in court faster than before. Finally, the perpetrators had to be shown to have “persistent” stalking behavior that “seriously” affected the victim’s life. From October onwards it will be sufficient to harass someone “repeatedly” and thereby “not negligibly” impair their life.
The sentence is also being tightened: while a maximum of three years ‘imprisonment could previously be imposed for stalking, now five years’ imprisonment is also possible. In addition, from October digital “cyberstalking” will also be an express criminal offense – for example if someone accesses the victim’s social media accounts or movement data.
Electronic prescription
After a test phase in Berlin and Brandenburg, medical practices can voluntarily issue electronic drug prescriptions nationwide from October 1st. Patients can then manage the e-prescriptions, for example using their smartphones, but they can also be printed out on paper. Starting in January, the e-prescription for prescription drugs will be a must.
Collection fees
Relief for debtors of small amounts: Collection service providers usually have to inform those affected at the first contact on whose behalf they are acting, which contract is involved and what costs could arise in the event of default. In the case of small claims of up to 50 euros, the collection costs that debtors have to pay in addition should not be higher than the claim itself. Important parts of the law come into force on October 1st.
Social networks
In the case of the “Network Enforcement Act”, which is intended to combat hatred and agitation on the Internet, a “counter-presentation procedure” is introduced. Social networks like Facebook must give their users the opportunity to defend themselves out of court against the blocking of supposedly illegal content. For example, those affected can request an individual justification for the deletion of their posts.
minimum wage
Scaffolders are paid better. The minimum wage in the scaffolding trade has risen from 12.20 euros per hour to 12.55 euros. A further increase to EUR 12.85 has already been agreed for October next year. The collectively agreed wages in the industry are, however, significantly higher: Here, the basic hourly wage increases to 17.47 euros on October 1st.
Fight against doping
A leniency program comes into force in the Anti-Doping Act. It enables a reduction in sentences or an exemption from punishment for high-performance athletes who do doping, if they provide the investigators with information about the people behind the crime and criminal networks.
view in the future
The Expo 2020 promises a glimpse into the future, which starts on October 1st in Dubai with a one year delay. 191 countries are taking part in the first world exhibition in the Arabic-speaking region with their own pavilions.
Highlights of the huge event in the desert: Visitors should be able to come into contact with more than 100 robots on the site. And in the Spanish pavilion, a Hyperloop vehicle is to be presented that will one day reach a speed of up to 1000 kilometers per hour.
It’s a little easier to get a glimpse of the future at the world’s largest book fair in Frankfurt am Main (from October 20th) and at the Essener Spielemesse, the world’s largest fair for board games (from October 14th).
More: This is how high the corona vaccination rate is currently in Germany and worldwide.