From Saturday on, Hamburg will extend the 2-G rule to hairdressers, other body-friendly services and parts of the retail sector. Corona-vaccinated and convalescent people can then use participating facilities without a mask, unvaccinated people have no access, as Vice Senate spokeswoman Julia Offen said on Tuesday. In this way, the operators could decide for themselves whether they want to use 2G without a mask or whether they want to continue serving unvaccinated customers but with a mask.
Shops for daily needs such as food retailers, drug stores and pharmacies are excluded from the option. Unvaccinated people should also be able to shop there in the future.
According to the information, there will be no lifting of all corona restrictions. The city-wide ban on alcohol sales outside the home should continue to apply from 10 p.m. Christmas market operators should be able to decide whether they want to operate their markets according to the 2-G or 3-G rule. (October 19, 2021)
Parent representatives call for compulsory corona vaccination for school staff
In view of the increasing number of infections, parent representatives and patient advocates are calling for stricter corona measures in the autumn and winter months. Ines Weber, board member of the Federal Parents’ Council, requires teachers to be vaccinated. This must be “legally stipulated by the federal government”, she told the newspapers of the Funke media group. The quarantine of entire class groups or even school closings must be prevented.
The Association of Education and Upbringing had rejected calls for teachers to be vaccinated months ago. Union leader Udo Beckmann pointed out in July that the occupational group had been vaccinated by an overwhelming majority, with the vaccination quota being 90 percent in some cases. The federal government also rejects vaccination requirements.
Such an obligation is possible in Germany, but rarely. Since March 2020, proof of immunization against measles has been mandatory for children when they are admitted to daycare centers and schools. This also applies to teachers and educators. According to the Infection Protection Act, the Federal Ministry of Health can order “that threatened parts of the population” have to take part in protective vaccinations.
The board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, spoke out in favor of expanding mandatory testing in clinics and nursing homes. The corona tests would have to be ordered by politicians nationwide on a daily basis for hospitals and nursing homes – “regardless of whether the person has been vaccinated or recovered,” said Brysch to the Funke newspapers. (19.10.2021)
Hospitals and Spahn for the end of the Corona emergency
In view of the corona vaccination quota in Germany, the German Hospital Association has no concerns about letting the so-called “epidemic situation of national scope” expire. “I can understand the step and do not consider that to be a problem,” said General Manager Gerald Gass of the editorial network in Germany.
The “epidemic situation” is the basis for central corona measures in Germany. Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) spoke out on Monday in discussions with the health ministers of the federal states in favor of letting the regulation expire on November 25th. He referred to information from image Among other things, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) classifies the risk for vaccinated people as moderate.
Gass supported this plan. In view of the high vaccination quota in Germany, it should no longer be necessary for the federal government to adopt measures to control pandemics beyond state competencies, he said. “I also no longer expect the same high numbers of Covid patients in the hospitals for autumn and winter as in the past.” (October 19, 2021)
RKI: Nationwide seven-day incidence continues to rise slightly
The seven-day incidence in Germany rose for the sixth day in a row. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Tuesday morning as 75.1. The previous day the value was 74.4, a week ago it was 65.8.
The health authorities in Germany reported 6771 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. According to the new information, 88 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours – exactly as many as a week ago.
The number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days – the most important parameter for a possible tightening of the corona restrictions – was given by the RKI on Monday as 1.92 (Friday 2.02). A nationwide threshold, from when the situation can be viewed critically, is not provided for the incidence of hospitalization, among other things because of large regional differences. The previous high was around 15.5 around Christmas time. (October 19, 2021)
Von der Leyen: More than a billion corona vaccine doses exported
The European Union has exported more than a billion corona vaccine doses to other countries around the world within ten months. “We have reached an important milestone,” said Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen. The vaccine has been delivered to more than 150 countries since December 2020 – including Japan, Turkey, Great Britain and Brazil. About 87 million cans were sent to low- and middle-income countries through the UN Covax initiative.
“We have always shared our vaccines fairly with the rest of the world,” emphasized von der Leyen. The EU exported as much as it made available for the citizens of the Union. In view of the initially scarce vaccine and sometimes failed deliveries, the EU introduced export controls for corona vaccines at the beginning of February 2021 and tightened them in March. In certain cases, export can be prohibited. However, this almost never happened. Von der Leyen has now confirmed that the EU will donate at least 500 million vaccine doses to particularly vulnerable countries in the coming months. “But other countries are also challenged,” said the Commission President. (October 18, 2021)
Police clear the blockade in Trieste
After days of protests by activists and workers in the port of the northern Italian city of Trieste against the Corona certificate, the police have started clearing blockades. Police officers with helmets and shields lined up in front of passage number 4 of the port in the morning, as reported by the Ansa news agency and seen on television images. There were scuffles with the security forces who pushed the protesters back. Water cannons were also used.
Dock workers and activists had been demonstrating for days against the extension of the so-called Green Pass to the world of work. This is a corona passport with printable or digital evidence of a corona vaccination, a negative test or recovery from the disease. The government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi had decided that the certificate has been necessary since last Friday in order to be allowed to go to work.
The port workers in Trieste had threatened to blockade. However, operations in the port, which is important for the economy, were not significantly restricted. The government’s decision had already led to violent clashes with the police in the capital Rome on Saturday a week ago. (10/18/2021)
Corona proceedings: The Federal Constitutional Court does not see itself as biased
The Federal Constitutional Court has denied allegations of bias in connection with the Corona emergency brake because of a dinner with members of the federal government. A rejection request against court president Stephan Harbarth and the judge Susanne Baer was rejected as unfounded according to information on Monday. The meeting in Berlin took place on June 30th. All 16 constitutional judges and most of the federal ministers took part in the dinner with the Chancellor, as stated in the government response to an earlier AfD request.
The rejection request was loud World on sunday the Berlin lawyer Niko Härting, who claims to be conducting proceedings for members of the Free Voters before the Constitutional Court. At the end of September he wrote on Twitter that Harbarth had given Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) the opportunity to explain the federal emergency brake. Baer also spoke on the subject. At the same time, the court wants to forego a negotiation on the emergency brake. The court had announced that it would probably decide in writing so that it would go faster because no oral hearing had to be scheduled. This raises doubts about the impartiality, said Härting.
The court declared: “Meetings for the exchange of ideas and experiences between the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Government as such, including the meeting of June 30, 2021 in question, are a completely unsuitable reason to justify the concern of bias.” The topic of the meeting was “Decision making under uncertainties”. Harbarth was involved in its selection, but did not position himself in terms of content on how to deal with it legally, announced the court. That does not speak for a possible lack of impartiality. Lambrecht also did not comment on any specific pending proceedings.
Because of the meeting, the AfD had already accused the judges of bias – in a procedure on statements made by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on the Thuringia election. The court rejected this request in July on the grounds that the regular meetings were an expression of the respect between the constitutional organs. The court is permanently involved in proceedings that affect the actions of the government. If a meeting raises doubts about the impartiality, an exchange would be impossible. (10/18/2021)
Hospitality industry still well below pre-crisis level
The German hospitality industry made up ground in the holiday month of August after the Corona crisis, but remains well below the pre-crisis level. Pubs, restaurants, caterers as well as hotels and other accommodation providers took in price-adjusted 5.9 percent more than in July, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Accordingly, sales in the catering and accommodation industry were still 16.2 percent below the level of February 2020 – the month before the outbreak of the corona pandemic in Germany. (10/18/2021)