Some federal states are already relaxing some corona restrictions.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The federal and state governments want to discuss concrete opening steps at their Corona summit. This was announced by government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann on Monday in Berlin. An “opening scenario is being developed,” she said. This can occur if an overload of the health system can be ruled out.
According to experts, this will be the case in mid or late February. On January 24, the federal and state governments agreed to develop “opening perspectives” as soon as the health system could be overburdened.
Before the top-level talks planned for February 16, the pressure on the federal and state governments to decide on concrete and uniform easing is growing. While neighboring countries like Denmark and France are opening up, Germany is still without an exit plan. At the same time, there are no signs of the healthcare system being overloaded, despite the continued increase in the number of cases.
The general manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, asked the Handelsblatt that a nationwide strategy should be launched that should take effect once the Omicron wave has peaked. However, caution is still required.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Landsberg added: “After some courts, for example in Lower Saxony, overturned the 2G rule in retail, it could make sense to initiate this as a first step towards easing it.” It is important that for “economy and people it is clear, plausible and nationwide it is determined what applies when, where and under what conditions.” This should “not be postponed any longer.” Of course, relaxation steps “can also be made dependent on the regionally different infection processes.”
Don’t jeopardize success in the pandemic
The SPD parliamentary group leader Dagmar Schmidt was at least confident that “the prime ministers’ conference will develop concrete plans in the coming week,” she told the Handelsblatt.
At the same time, she warned against “recklessly jeopardizing success in the pandemic” by “risky openings”. “We expect the omicron wave to peak soon, after which we can relax.”
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the seven-day incidence rose to 1426 on Monday and thus to a new high. The health authorities also reported 95,267 new corona infections within one day. In federal states such as Berlin and Saarland, however, the seven-day incidence is also declining again.
>> Read here: Compulsory vaccinations – What Germany can learn from the pioneers Italy and Austria
As different as the infection process is, the corona strategies in the countries are now just as different. Hesse is already easing its corona restrictions from Monday and ending the 2G rule in retail, in Schleswig-Holstein this step is due on Wednesday. Baden-Württemberg is working on a relaxation plan for the corona restrictions, which could possibly take effect at the end of February.
Bayern also wants to loosen up
According to Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), Bavaria also wants to relax a whole series of corona restrictions. In the future, restaurants should be allowed to open again without time limits, and the curfew – currently 10 p.m. – should be lifted. The party leader announced this on Monday in a video link by the CSU board, as the German Press Agency learned from participants.
The CSU politician wants to relax some restrictions in Bavaria.
(Photo: dpa)
According to the information, more spectators will soon be admitted to sporting and cultural events in the Free State. At sporting events, a spectator capacity of up to 50 percent should be allowed again – in stadiums and at major sporting events the limit is currently 25 percent. In addition, according to Söder, a maximum upper limit of 15,000 spectators should then apply. Currently there are 10,000.
Services close to the body, such as at hairdressers or in nail salons, should also be possible again in the future for visitors with a negative corona test. According to the German press agency, the 3G rule should apply here again, Söder announced. This means that unvaccinated people or people who have no proof of recovery can use the services again. The 2G rule still applies here.
In Bavaria, a test certificate should again suffice for services close to the body.
(Photo: dpa)
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), on the other hand, warned against premature easing. “We are before the peak of the wave. Loosening up the maximum number of cases now means: I’m pouring oil on the fire,” Lauterbach told the “Bild”. At the same time, he promised that “we will relax well before Easter.”
More: Concern about delivery bottlenecks for masks and rapid tests – Union and SPD want to reduce dependence on China