In the expectation of falling infection numbers, the federal and state governments are preparing to largely remove the corona requirements in two months. On the day before the Prime Ministers’ Conference (MPK) to determine the further corona course, Bavaria rushed ahead with the decision on a multitude of openings. According to Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), the omicron wave in Germany is now behind it.
“The peak of the omicron wave has passed – pretty much exactly on the day I predicted a month ago,” Lauterbach told the Bild newspaper on Tuesday “moderate loosening” possible. The measures taken so far were “precise,” he said. “We were able to significantly reduce the number of deaths and, compared to other countries, got through this omicron wave really well. One should acknowledge that something worked.”
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the seven-day incidence fell for the third day in a row to 1437.5. The day before there were 1459.8 reported new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. The health authorities reported 159,217 new cases in one day. Other experts are also optimistic – but point out that the numbers can quickly rise again. The Bremen epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb told the editorial network Germany: “We need a week to be able to say for sure whether the wave will recede.”
In Bavaria, the day before the federal-state meeting on the future Corona course, the cabinet decided to completely eliminate contact restrictions for those who had been vaccinated and those who had recovered. From Thursday onwards, those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered will no longer need an additional test as an admission requirement. “We are team caution and team freedom, but not team stubborn,” said Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) after the cabinet meeting. Existing contact restrictions for the unvaccinated remain. Berlin also lifted the 2G rule for retail. Instead, it applies generally in retail another FFP2 mask requirement.
NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) also announced specific easing in the Düsseldorf state parliament – initially with regard to the contact restrictions for the vaccinated. Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann called for a cautious opening course. Gradual easing would certainly be decided at the MPK, said the Green politician in Stuttgart. Kretschmann expressed skepticism about the question of whether it would be possible to do without Corona requirements from March 20th. Kretschmann referred above all to the risks for unvaccinated, older people.
According to a first draft, the federal and state governments want to decide this Wednesday that the corona protection measures will largely be abolished by the beginning of spring on March 20th. The expiry of the protective measures on March 19 is already stipulated in the Infection Protection Act. However, the Bundestag could extend the validity once by three months. According to the first draft for the MPK on Sunday evening, there should also be “low-threshold basic protection measures” such as the mask requirement beyond March 19.
Union parliamentary group manager Thorsten Frei warned against completely abandoning a legal basis for further corona measures. “I would like to give the countries the chance to be able to react to an outbreak of infection.” Wüst, who is currently also MPK chairman, said: “We still need at least the possibility of proven protective measures such as compulsory masks, distance rules and hygiene concepts.”
Meanwhile, according to the Greens, the original consideration of discussing applications for general compulsory vaccination for the first time this week is off the table. “This morning we agreed at the level of the parliamentary group leaders in the traffic light coalition that we would have a first reading for the group applications for the introduction of compulsory vaccination in the first week of March,” said parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge. The first week of the Bundestag session next month starts on March 14th.
Even after the shortened recovery status to three months, those affected can continue to receive digital certificates issued for six months for technical reasons. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health said on Tuesday in Berlin that the corresponding app has not yet been set up. However, the technical conversion is being worked on. (dpa)