Status: 03/11/2021 2:32 p.m.
According to Prime Minister Söder, there are no longer any free intensive care beds in some corona hotspots in Bavaria. Therefore, the measures in the state are now to be tightened. He also called for booster vaccinations for everyone.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder has announced that the corona measures will be tightened. “We are facing a hard winter,” said Söder at a press conference. “In Bavaria the incidence is at a very, very high level.” In some corona hotspots, there are no longer any intensive care beds available in the hospitals.
The Bavarian corona incidence value has exceeded the record values from the previous waves for days. The latest decline is likely to be related to the fact that All Saints’ Day was a public holiday last Monday in the Free State.
“We definitely do not want other operations in the hospitals to have to be canceled,” said Söder. Therefore, stricter measures should apply in hotspots in the future. “3G +” will then apply wherever the 3G regulation has been in effect up to now. This means that a simple rapid test is no longer sufficient for unvaccinated people, but a PCR test is mandatory for them. This currently affects 27 districts, said Söder.
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In addition, a 3G regulation should apply in the workplace in regions with a high incidence of infections. With more than ten people in a room, everyone present would have to be vaccinated, recovered or tested for a corona infection, Söder announced. Hotspots are counties with an incidence of 300 or higher and an intensive care bed occupancy rate of at least 80 percent.
“Infections where the vaccination rate is low”
Wherever “3G +” is already in effect, only those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered are temporarily allowed access if the specified threshold values are exceeded. Local public transport, trade and training centers such as universities are excluded from the rules. Söder announced that compliance with the rules should also be monitored more closely. The new measures should come into force on Saturday. In secondary schools in the state, a mask requirement will be introduced for two weeks after the autumn break, and for one week in primary schools.
Around a third of the people in Bavaria are still unvaccinated. Söder therefore again appealed to the unvaccinated to get vaccinated. “It is a pandemic for the unvaccinated. We have the infections especially where the vaccination rate is low,” said Söder. “Vaccination is the best protection.” He also called for a booster vaccination for anyone whose second vaccination was more than six months ago. In Israel, the number of infections has fallen thanks to the booster vaccinations. Boosters are therefore the best protection.
Other federal states are also tightening measures
In view of the high number of infections, other federal states have also already announced that they will take tough action again with the corona measures. In Baden-Württemberg, stricter regulations are already in force today because the state has reached the corona warning level that has been set for itself. People without a vaccination or proof of surviving an infection now have to present a PCR test in many places – and this is significantly more expensive than a rapid test.
In addition, contact restrictions apply again to unvaccinated citizens with the warning level. The members of a household can meet with five other people. This does not apply to children and adolescents under the age of 17 as well as those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered or who cannot be vaccinated.
In Saxony, only the 2G regulation should be allowed for indoor events and restaurant visits – which would only make it possible for vaccinated and convalescent people. The state cabinet wants to decide on Friday whether the stricter requirements come into force.