Traffic light plans to end the epidemic situation

Berlin Before the epidemic situation ends on November 25, the parliamentary groups of the SPD, Greens and FDP want to adopt new guard rails to contain the corona pandemic. This Monday, the traffic light parties want to present a corresponding bill to amend the Infection Protection Act. The Green Party leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt announced on Sunday evening in the ARD program “Anne Will”.

“We’ll say that tomorrow in Parliament, of course, and the parliamentary groups first,” said Göring-Eckardt. The Green politician did not want to comment on details. On the question of whether there should be a nationwide 2G rule, i.e. access only for vaccinated and convalescent people, the parliamentary group leader said that, in her opinion, this could not be made legally certain nationwide.

The three possible coalition partners apparently want to stipulate, among other things, new regulations for the test offer. In addition, the traffic light parties are probably working on measures to prevent fraud with falsified vaccination certificates.

Green leader Annalena Baerbock had said to the editorial network Germany: “The point is to put the protective measures on a legally viable basis and thereby secure them.” The measures would have to be decided by the Bundestag.

As the “Bild am Sonntag” reports, referring to negotiating circles, the SPD, Greens and FDP are considering, among other things, a daily test obligation for employees and visitors in nursing homes, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or recovered. In addition, the corona premium for clinics could be reactivated so that hospitals receive state compensation again if they keep part of their intensive care beds free for corona patients.

In order to speed up the booster vaccinations in seniors, doctors should be obliged to write to their elderly patients and inform them about the third vaccination, the report said. However, the potential traffic light partners wanted to forego a lockdown for unvaccinated people or a nationwide 2G rule for public life.

So far, according to the Infection Protection Act, corona requirements have been linked to the fact that the Bundestag determines the epidemic situation. Parliament did this for the first time in March 2020 and confirmed it several times. The three parties had named the vaccinations as protection against corona as the main reason for the planned change. They had also announced that all corona restrictions should expire by March 20, 2022 at the latest.

No lockdown, no school closings

On November 25, the special status of the epidemic situation of national scope expires. The outgoing Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU), like the possible new government partners, had spoken out in favor of no longer extending the classification as the legal basis for extensive corona restrictions.

The SPD, Greens and FDP had already announced at the end of October that they wanted to define a stripped-down catalog of possible measures instead. A corresponding legal regulation should be decided after a hearing of experts on November 18 in the Bundestag. One day later, the law should be discussed and passed in a special session of the Federal Council.

After the announcement by the three parties, the federal states should continue to have corona measures such as mask requirements, hygiene concepts or access rules only for vaccinated, convalescent and tested people. School closings, lockdowns and curfews will no longer exist, SPD parliamentary deputy Dirk Wiese said.

Most recently, the number of new corona infections in Germany has risen sharply again. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the seven-day incidence on Sunday morning at 191.5. The day before, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week was 183.7. A week ago it was 149.4. The health authorities reported 23,543 new corona infections to the RKI within one day.

While the traffic lights are discussing nationwide rules, some federal states are rushing ahead: In Bavaria, stricter rules have been in place again since Sunday. The reason is the high number of occupied intensive care beds. Only those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and people with a negative PCR test have access to inns and events in closed rooms. A rapid antigen test is no longer enough.

In addition, FFP2 masks must generally be worn again. In regions where the number of new infections and intensive care patients is particularly high, even stricter rules apply.

Medical professionals are calling for free tests

In view of the force of the fourth wave, more and more politicians and doctors are calling for free corona tests to be offered to everyone again. The end of the assumption of costs for so-called citizen tests did not motivate those unwilling to vaccinate, said the President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, the newspapers of the Funke media group. The federal and state governments should quickly correct this “wrong decision”.

Especially in the cold season, you need low-threshold, free test offers again. “The new regulation must now come quickly, if possible with the amendment of the Infection Protection Act in mid-November.”

Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), Greens boss Robert Habeck and representatives of doctors, municipalities and trade had already called for the return to free tests. North Rhine-Westphalia’s new Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst now demanded free corona tests for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. “The high numbers of infections among unvaccinated people lead to more and more breakthroughs among those who have been vaccinated,” said the CDU politician of “Bild am Sonntag”.

Since October 11th, corona rapid tests have only been free in exceptional cases. The federal government has stopped funding. Many test stations are now closed. This was justified by the fact that everyone now has the opportunity to protect themselves through a vaccination. Since then, free tests have only been available for people who cannot be vaccinated, including children under the age of 12, as well as temporarily for 12 to 17 year olds and pregnant women.

Stricter rules for unvaccinated people

Medical President Klaus Reinhardt demands that in this country only those who have been vaccinated or recovered are allowed to visit restaurants, events or cinemas. The general manager of the German Association of Cities, Helmut Dedy, made a similar statement. SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach calls for the 2G rule to “best apply in all areas that are not part of daily needs like grocery stores or drugstores”.

Austria has already decided to introduce the 2G rule. In Germany, as of Monday, Saxony will be the first federal state to implement the 2G rule in parts of public life across the board and in a mandatory manner.

This means that only those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated have access to indoor restaurants, discos or leisure and cultural facilities. Large events such as football in stadiums are also affected, but not retail or church services.

The President of the German Medical Association called on politics nationwide to act. “We now need clear rules to break the chains of infection,” said Reinhardt of the “Passauer Neue Presse”. “Visits to restaurants, events or the cinema, for example, should only be reserved for those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated.”

If necessary, lockdown measures are even necessary for the unvaccinated: “When it comes to securing inpatient care, I think that’s justified. After all, it is currently mainly the unvaccinated who have to be treated with severe Covid courses in the clinics, ”said Reinhardt. The workplace must also become safer. “That means: vaccinated, recovered or tested.”

The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder made a similar statement. “It is mandatory to have 3G in the workplace all over Germany,” said the CSU boss to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday). “And employers must have the right to ask whether the employees have been vaccinated or have taken a test.” In some Corona hotspots in the Free State, the 2G rule is already being used. Bavaria is one of the federal states with the highest corona incidences.

SPD health politician Lauterbach advises against larger Christmas and Carnival celebrations in view of the situation. The likely last big wave of the pandemic could still cost a great many lives. “It is therefore important that people are more careful,” he told the “Rheinische Post”. “This includes avoiding company Christmas parties indoors as much as possible, celebrating Christmas in smaller groups and not going to the carnival.”

More: 23,543 new infections – nationwide incidence close to the 200 mark