loosening
Söder calls for a gradual exit strategy – but also an emergency plan
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder formulates his demands for a phased plan to gradually reduce the corona rules.
© Sven Hoppe / DPA
Will the Omicron summit soon be over, can the corona rules actually be relaxed now? On Wednesday, the federal and state governments will wrestle over the details. Markus Söder has clear demands.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) calls for a gradual exit strategy from the corona restrictions before the federal-state meeting on Wednesday. “If the omicron peak is reached and the health system is still intact, you have to start exiting,” said Söder of the German Press Agency in Munich.
He advocated a phased plan to gradually reduce the corona rules. At the same time, he called for a longer-term legal basis for protective measures such as the obligation to wear masks and distance rules, as well as an emergency strategy for possible new waves. “Decisions must not be postponed on Wednesday. Now is the time to set the course – not in a hurry, but gradually,” said Söder. The traffic light must now disclose its plans.
“A step-by-step plan is required for the exit,” emphasized Söder. “First of all, 2G can be abolished nationwide in retail and switched from 2G plus to 2G in gastronomy. In addition, more viewers should be allowed nationwide: 50 percent in sports with a limited maximum number and 75 percent in culture.” In Bavaria, Söder had recently relaxed the corona rules accordingly.
How are things going in March?
In addition, Söder called for an end to the contact restrictions – so far, a maximum of ten people have been allowed to come together privately, provided that everyone has been vaccinated or recovered. As soon as an unvaccinated person is present, only a household with two other people is allowed to meet. “The contact restrictions in the private sector can now also be lifted,” emphasized Söder. Then a schedule is needed “how and when to switch from 2G to 3G”. Söder, on the other hand, does not see the opening of clubs and discos as a first step. “The areas that can be opened last are certainly clubs and discos with 2G plus,” he explained.
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Basically, Söder called for a revision of the entire Corona regulations. “Unfortunately, Germany has become entangled in a tangle of different regulations. We therefore need fewer rules and instead need clear and understandable principles.”
First of all, the federal government has an obligation: the federal government must now make a clear statement on how things should continue in March – there is a heated debate about this within the traffic light. However, the federal government needs to have a unified position before the federal-state meeting.
In fact, according to the will of the FDP, the legal basis for the corona protection measures, which is limited to March 19, should be completely eliminated. If this happens, “at least protective measures such as masks and distance are needed,” said Söder. “However, a legal basis is necessary for this. All of this must be decided and planned now. In addition, an emergency strategy against possible new waves and mutations is required. Postponement does not apply this time.”