Swimming pool ban, no access to the gym? The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior specified in a statement on Monday the “own sporting activities” that young people under 18 years of age are allowed to take part in until the end of the year, even without a vaccination. The reason is uncertainty among parents, students and, in some cases, operators after the red traffic lights came into force and the latest cabinet resolutions. In state parliament debates and in media reports, including in the SZ, an interpretation of the Infection Protection Ordinance has often circulated so far, according to which personal sporting activities are only allowed in the context of a club – for example, when swimming. The ordinance “makes no difference here between club sport or whether someone is swimming privately in an indoor swimming pool,” said Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU).
The moratorium, which the students “transitionally” allows for 2G, is to apply until the end of the year. The basis for this is regular testing in schools. The aim should be for young people to decide in favor of a vaccination after all during this period. The “leisure lockdown” for non-vaccinated young people from the age of twelve, as criticized by the ranks of the opposition, affects the cinema, concerts, visits to stadiums, discos and clubs, and since the nationwide 2-G rule came into force there, it also affects restaurants . However, there is an exception for “own activities” in the field of music or theater as well as sports; always, however, as it was said, “not in a passive role”.
Minister Herrmann nevertheless appealed to all young people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. “Those who get vaccinated protect themselves and others. The vaccination rate among young people under the age of 18 is still far too low. This age group in particular is most often infected with the coronavirus.”
Söder speaks of a “week of truth”
Prime Minister Markus Söder on Monday praised the plans of the traffic light parties in Berlin to fight the pandemic, which have now been improved. “For a long time the traffic lights gave the wrong signals. It is not yet perfect, but it is going in the right direction,” he said after a cabinet meeting. The measures now decided for Bavaria are “a kind of lockdown for the unvaccinated”, so that pressure is exerted on those who have not yet wanted to be vaccinated.
The reform of the Infection Protection Act is to be decided this week in the Bundestag. The federal and state governments want to hold a conference on Thursday. In his opinion, what is lacking in general conditions across Germany are uniform regulations for third-party vaccinations even before the waiting period of six months, the compulsory vaccination for certain professions and vaccinations for under twelve-year-olds such as in Austria. Söder spoke of a “week of truth” in the fight against the coronavirus, the next few days would offer “perhaps the last chance to take countermeasures” before a dramatic situation in the pandemic occurs.
Apart from the rules, the Prime Minister called on the people in Bavaria that everyone should “check their contacts again” in order to make a “personal contribution”. The President of the District Assembly, the Deggendorf District Administrator Christian Bernreiter (CSU), also made such an appeal to the citizens, but also to organizers in the Free State.