Federal and state consultations on Corona
Union states and Baden-Württemberg are pushing forward with their own draft resolution
In view of the dramatic corona situation, the B countries are calling for stricter measures.
© Markus Scholz / DPA
The traffic lights are blocked, the Union doesn’t like it at all. The so-called B countries are now calling for specific measures on their own – and have formulated them in a catalog of demands.
The negotiations about possible tightening of the corona measures are obviously proceeding too slowly for some federal states. So far, CDU and SPD-led countries had tried to work out joint templates together with the Chancellery. But now the B countries (countries governed by the Uion) and Baden-Württemberg are pre-represented.
In their own draft resolution, which, according to information from the “Tagesspiegel” and the German Press Agency, was sent to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the State Chancellery, they urge concrete minimum resolutions in the deliberations with the Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and her likely successor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “In their preliminary B-meeting today, the B-countries drew up the attached resolution proposal against the background of the urgent need for action in view of the current infection situation, which we are now introducing into today’s deliberations,” quoted the “Tagesspiegel” from the cover letter.
The requirements at a glance
According to the draft resolution available to the dpa and the “Tagesspiegel” as of November 30th, the B countries are making the following demands:
- Unvaccinated people should only be allowed to meet a maximum of five people from a maximum of two households in the future. Vaccinated, convalescent and children under the age of twelve are not included in the total number of people. Spouses, civil partners and partners in a cohabiting relationship would be considered as one household, even if they did not have a common place of residence.
- Clubs and discos are to be closed according to the ideas of the B countries.
- At major events, the capacity should only be used to a third.
- In the event that the Bundestag does not re-establish the epidemic situation of national scope, the Union-led states ask the federal government to amend the Infection Protection Act by December 10th so that certain measures are available to them in full and beyond December 15th. In areas with an extremely high seven-day incidence, it should be possible to place restrictions in excess of the minimum measures mentioned.
- In addition, the B-Länder ask the federal government to initiate the preparation of a general compulsory health insurance as soon as possible. The facility-related compulsory vaccination in nursing homes and hospitals to protect particularly vulnerable people, which was decided on in the federal-state round on November 18, must come into force this year.
The calls for tightening the protective measures and restrictions had become louder in the past few days. The reasons are the high number of infections, the heavy load on the intensive care units in hospitals and the spread of the new Omikron variant.
“We need uniform measures as minimum protection throughout Germany in order to significantly reduce contacts and protect the people in the state,” tweeted North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), who is also chairman of the Prime Minister’s Conference. “We have always been the strongest together in combating the pandemic. Therefore, it is important that the federal and state districts discuss today.” Above all, we need concrete results quickly. “
Kretschmann calls for a return to the epidemic situation
The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann (Greens), called for the epidemic situation of national importance to be re-proclaimed before the Prime Minister’s meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and her designated successor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “Without this decision, we have asymmetry in the corona measures,” Kretschmann told journalists in Stuttgart on Tuesday. According to the Infection Protection Act, the federal states are allowed to close cultural venues, but not shops or fairs. “If we close theaters but have to leave brothels open, you can imagine the discussion,” said Kretschmann.
The Stuttgart head of government announced, regardless of the federal-state decisions for Baden-Württemberg, that football games without an audience would again take place in the future. In the current situation, discos and clubs would also be closed from Thursday and a ban on alcohol in public places would be imposed. Christmas markets would also have to be closed. How to proceed with cultural events still has to be discussed.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) demanded “a new federal emergency brake” in front of the telephone switch. “We have to act quickly now,” he wrote on Twitter. The executive minister of the Chancellery, Helge Braun (CDU), said in the morning that no resolutions were planned during the deliberations. However, this was before the Federal Constitutional Court decision, which could now pave the way for far-reaching measures.
The federal and state governments advise on closings of clubs and bars, among other things
On Tuesday, the federal and state governments began their talks about tightened corona measures. The Federal Constitutional Court had previously assessed previous corona protective measures as part of the so-called federal emergency brake, which expired in June. Accordingly, school closings as well as exit and contact restrictions were permitted.
According to information from the “Business Insider” portal, the Bund-Länder-Round should advise on a nationwide closure of bars and clubs. In addition, an upper limit of people should be aimed for for leisure facilities. In addition, it is about a nationwide reintroduction of the mask requirement in schools. Contact restrictions and curfews for unvaccinated people are also under discussion.
In addition, advice should also be given about compulsory vaccinations, “Business Insider” reported on. A vaccination obligation for employees in hospitals as well as old people’s and nursing homes has already been decided. Now this could also be available for firefighters, police officers and employees in local public transport.