If you don’t want to travel far in these times, but still want to visit South Tyrol, you might want to drop by the Gasthaus Adler in Holzheim (district of Neu-Ulm). The menu includes dumplings and Gröstl, for example, “everything homemade,” says boss Tanja Schmid on the phone, served in the in-house “Speckstube”. Only: during the week there is not much going on at the moment. Groups in particular canceled their reservations with reference to Corona, reports the landlady, despite all hygiene concepts. And on Friday and Saturday, when it’s busier, there’s curfew. All guests have to leave by 10 p.m. at the latest. “Really stupid,” says Schmid, who is also involved in the local section of the Bavarian hotel and restaurant association Dehoga. “The hospitality falls by the wayside.” Not to mention the drop in sales.
The curfew, which has been in the instrument case in Bavaria again and again in the almost two Corona years, reliably leads to the outcry of the landlords. For example, in an industry survey, 23 percent of companies stated that they could no longer “open economically” after 10 p.m. After all, groups in particular remain seated longer after the meal, including the consumption of drinks. Operational processes and staff numbers are often designed for working into the night, especially in cities. Recently, the cravings of the industry have been expressed a little more quietly, since this week you can feel an upswing again: On Tuesday, the cabinet of Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) decided on gentle relaxation for culture, sports and youth work, the lower burden on the clinics at Omikron justifies this, it was said.
There was no mention of the curfew. But the measures taken during the Delta period cannot be transferred one-to-one to Omikron, is the new trend that Söder has recently pointed out. He added “a sense of proportion” to his “Team Caution”. When Bavaria stayed with 2G in the catering trade against the decision of the federal and state governments – without “plus”, i.e. additional test – Söder mentioned the precautionary measures: that pure pubs and discos are closed. And the curfew.
Jokes speculate that the virus only appears in the dark of night
But now the debate is brewing: Is this really still the right measure in this Corona phase? In addition, it can be seen in many cities that pub nights sometimes start in the late afternoon. The joke that the virus probably only suddenly appears in the dark of night is circulating again on Twitter. All of this is fueled by the decision in Baden-Württemberg to overturn the curfew for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, without a test. In border regions like the landlady Schmidt in Neu-Ulm, tourism to the neighboring country could possibly start up again, as it did in the past with hardware stores; this time not because of boards and screws, but food and drink at a late hour.
“From our point of view, the time is ripe to lift the curfew,” says Thomas Geppert, Dehoga state manager. The past has shown that the industry guarantees safe operations, and the current level of knowledge about Omikron adds to this. Alternatively: “Even an hour more can bring a lot.” Dehoga estimates the loss of sales at up to 40 percent, and short-time work is being used more frequently again. It is difficult to estimate exactly what proportion of the curfew is – because due to the increasing number of infections, celebrations were also canceled, regular meetings met less frequently and people generally reduced contacts.
Is something already happening in the state government? According to the Ministry of Health, changes to the Infection Protection Ordinance are “basically reserved for Council of Ministers decisions”. If you ask around the government factions of the CSU and FW, you will register reluctance. Less in the sense that the cancellation of the closing time was considered unacceptable or that hosts and guests were not allowed to do so. More with this tenor, to put it bluntly: Anyone who is now publicly demanding this while everything remains the same for the theaters, for example, “will be in the newspaper tomorrow: culture philistine who is only interested in eating and drinking.” One of the CSU explains the dilemma like this.
Of course, the tavern culture is a factor, the longer the curfew is in force, there is a “risk of destroying something in the long term, even in inner cities”. On the other hand, there is the frustration of the culture people, which is accumulating among the deputies in constituencies, despite the recent easing. If a brass band or music group is planning a big Easter concert, they currently have no real perspective. So: “It’s better to wait a bit, then show the big line instead of selectively and ad hoc”.
The more alcohol flows, the more caution wanes
However, many doctors consider the curfew to be technically correct – at least as long as the state government sticks to 2G without plus in restaurants. “It’s just that,” says a prominent virologist, who does not want to be named because he advises many politicians, “when it gets later, more alcohol flows, caution decreases, you move closer together, the risk of infection is simply higher.” Quasi: If it’s fun, it can also be dangerous.
Therefore, in his view, the curfew at 10 p.m. is a very sensible protection against infection – precisely because the omicron variant is so much more contagious and the peak of the wave is only a few weeks away. Things would be different with 2 G plus, “especially as far as the curfew is concerned, that would be a smart solution”: more security that there are no infected people among the guests, “you could then easily allow a curfew at midnight or even later .”
Of course, this should be a nightmare scenario for the gastro scene. Lobbyist Geppert says he doesn’t feel at a disadvantage compared to theaters or operas that remain open as long as they like. With the 2-G-Plus rules in the culture, he certainly does not want to swap.