As of: 02/15/2022 4:14 p.m
Bavaria loosens its corona regulations even before the decisions of the Prime Minister’s Conference. Schleswig-Holstein also announced opening steps. Tomorrow the federal and state governments will discuss a step-by-step plan.
A day before the federal and state round on the future Corona course, the Bavarian cabinet has already decided on a wide range of easing. “Today we can see that the peak of Corona has been reached,” said Prime Minister Markus Söder after a cabinet meeting. “In fact, Omicron is just a lot less dangerous.”
Plans for corona loosening before federal-state meetings
Ole Hilgert, RBB, daily news at 4:00 p.m., February 15, 2022
The contact restrictions for vaccinated and recovered people are completely eliminated. In addition, the corona access rules will be relaxed: Vaccinated and recovered people will no longer need an additional test anywhere from Thursday. For the time being, the contact restrictions should remain in place for the unvaccinated.
With the lifting of the contact restrictions, Bavaria is going further at this point than the nationwide easing formulated in the draft for tomorrow.
Söder: “Team caution and team freedom”
Söder also announced for Bavaria that instead of 2G-Plus in the areas of sports and culture as well as public and private events in non-private premises, 2G rules will apply and in retail the limitation of the number of customers to a maximum of one customer per ten square meters of retail space will no longer apply. Unvaccinated people will then have access to some other areas of public life, such as universities – if they can show a negative test.
“We are team caution and team freedom, but not team stubborn,” said Söder. You just go by the “objective standard” of dangerousness. “We need more clarity and more simplicity when entering the exit,” said the Prime Minister. He advocated reopening discotheques and clubs nationwide after carnival under 2G-plus conditions. However, he ruled out a Bavarian solo effort here.
Relaxation also in Schleswig-Holstein
In a press conference, Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther also announced further easing of the corona protection measures for this weekend.
From Saturday there should be no more contact restrictions for vaccinated and recovered people. This also applies to events in bars and restaurants. A maximum of 25 people only applies to meetings in which unvaccinated people also take part.
Günther also announced that unvaccinated people would be able to take part in large parts of public life again from March 3rd. The prerequisite is that they have a negative test in gastronomy, tourism, leisure and culture.
Hamburg: Senate wants to lift the curfew
In Hamburg, the Senate decided to implement openings in several steps. In doing so, Hamburg will be guided by the decisions of the Prime Ministers’ Conference, the assessments of the Expert Council and the resulting recommendations, said press spokesman Marcel Schweitzer.
Contact restrictions in the private sphere could soon be relaxed and the curfew at 11 p.m. in restaurants could be lifted. The latter can already be expected from Saturday. According to Schweitzer, the Senate expects that all restrictions – with the exception of the mask requirement – will gradually be lifted by March 20.
NRW: Wüst promises quick openings
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst announced concrete relaxation of the corona protection measures in the Düsseldorf state parliament. “One of the first steps in North Rhine-Westphalia will be to noticeably reduce the contact restrictions for those who have been vaccinated,” he said in parliament. “In further steps, we are planning to make catering, hotels and major events easier.”
The chairman of the Prime Ministers’ Conference said he was aware of the great strain and strain on trade in recent months. “The FFP2 mask will be the central protective mechanism when shopping in the future.” At the same time, restrictions that interfere particularly strongly with fundamental rights should be withdrawn. This applies, for example, to the private sector.
Kretschmann for cautious opening course
Lower Saxony also sees the time for noticeable easing if the corona pandemic continues to develop. “Land is in sight and maybe we can all look forward to spring,” said government spokeswoman Anke Pörksen. However, she left open what exactly possible easing steps could look like with reference to the upcoming federal-state talks tomorrow.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann advocates a cautious opening course in the corona strategy. He was skeptical about the question of whether it would be possible to do without conditions from March 20th. “The exit from such a pandemic is very challenging,” said Kretschmann, referring above all to the risks for unvaccinated, older people.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann advocates a cautious opening course in the corona strategy.
Image: dpa
Step-by-step plan for federal-state consultations
Tomorrow the federal and state governments will discuss how to proceed in the corona pandemic. In the run-up, there were increasing calls for nationwide easing. A draft resolution provides for a concrete three-stage plan. In the paper that dem ARD Capital Studio is available, it says: “By the beginning of spring on March 20, 2022, the far-reaching restrictions on social, cultural and economic life should be gradually withdrawn.”