Proof of vaccination or recovery
Call for a nationwide end to the 2G rule in retail
The call for a nationwide abolition of the 2G rule in retail is getting louder and louder. Photo: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Omicron is still raging, but corona measures are being scaled back in many countries. In Germany, too, there is a debate about easing – especially with regard to access to shops and stores.
After the announced end of the 2G rule in retail in Schleswig-Holstein and Hesse, politicians from the coalition and opposition are calling for such a step to be implemented nationwide.
FDP leader Christian Lindner said on the RTL program “Guten Morgen Deutschland” that the 2G rule would cause economic damage without making an effective contribution to combating the pandemic. “And that’s why 2G is not required in retail, the mask is already there,” emphasized the minister on RTL and ntv. 2G means that only those who have been vaccinated or have recovered have access.
“We now need an entry into the exit”
CSU boss Markus Söder told the “Bild” newspaper: “With an FFP2 mask, we can do without the 2G rule in retail. You only stop in shops for a short time. That could be implemented nationwide.” In gastronomy, the 2G rule can be retained, but there is no need for an additional test. In the RTL / ntv “early start” the Bavarian Prime Minister said: “We now need an entry into the exit. The omicron wall is there now and will probably get a little bigger, but there are doors in the wall that we can see through.”
In several federal states, shopping without proof of vaccination or recovery is already allowed again because courts had overturned the corresponding 2G rule. Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) announced on Wednesday that this rule would also be lifted in his state with effect from February 9th. In Hesse, Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) said on Wednesday evening that the 2G rule in retail is expected to be lifted early next week.
Deputy CDU chairman Carsten Linnemann also wants to overturn the 2G rule for retail. “If you don’t have the acceptance of certain measures, people won’t participate either,” Linnemann told the magazine “Cicero” (online). It cannot be conveyed to anyone that the 2G rule in retail still applies in some federal states, while it has already been abolished a few kilometers away in neighboring federal states.
AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel demanded: “The repeal of the discriminatory, unconstitutional and health-politically senseless 2G and 3G rules is overdue, and not step by step, but immediately and in all their absurd variations.” Referring to other European countries, Weidel called for a deadline for the complete lifting of all corona requirements. “And not someday, but very soon,” she added.