This time, politics could actually hit the right note. Nature is spring-like on the rise, the sun is shining, the crocuses are blooming, how good it would be if the positive mood were taken up with easing of the restrictions on public life due to the Corona measures.
That’s how it should be now. The Prime Ministers want to decide on extensive easing at their next meeting on Wednesday. With an eleven-point plan, at the beginning of spring on March 20, “the far-reaching restrictions on social, cultural and economic life are to be gradually withdrawn”, as stated in a template for the conference. According to this, “basic protective measures such as wearing medical masks in particular should take effect”.
Agreements are planned on medication, compulsory vaccination, short-time work benefits, bridging assistance and the misuse of economic aid. The core, however, is a “three-step opening in areas of supra-regional or fundamental importance”. Where no or only minor supra-regional effects are to be expected, the countries can independently decide on opening steps depending on the infection rate and the vaccination rates as well as the burden on the health system.
Celebrate with more party guests, dance with a booster or test
As a first step, private meetings for vaccinated and recovered people with more participants are to be made possible again in the next few days. Previously, there was an upper limit of 10 people. “Now private meetings of vaccinated and recovered with up to 20 people are possible”. Children up to the age of 14 are excluded.
For unvaccinated people, the existing restrictions should continue to apply until March 19th. Once an unvaccinated person attends a gathering, meetings should be limited to their own household and no more than two people from another household. According to the template, all restrictions on access are no longer applicable in retail, apart from the obligation to wear a mask.
In a second step, access to gastronomy for vaccinated, recovered and people with daily tests should be made possible from March 4th (3G regulation). This is also intended for accommodation offers. Discotheques and clubs are to be opened for those who have recovered and those who have been vaccinated with a daily test or with a third vaccination (2G plus). For major national events, 2G or 2G-plus regulations should apply to spectators.
Maximum capacities for indoor and outdoor events are to be agreed, although these are to be designed more generously. In this context, the federal government wants masks to be compulsory and hygiene concepts.
“In a third and final step from March 20, 2022, all more far-reaching protective measures will no longer apply,” the draft says. This would also affect the mandatory home office regulations.
The whole thing was accompanied by the expert council of the federal government. The Council published a unanimously agreed statement on Sunday. “We are in a new phase of the pandemic,” it says. “The number of SARS-CoV-2 infections has so far increased continuously, but a plateau and a subsequent drop for the Omicron (BA.1) wave can be expected in the coming weeks. At this point in time, it is important to plan opening strategies with foresight and to communicate these steps in an understandable way,” said the expert council.
However, some restrictions are still necessary because the Omicron variant bypasses the immune system and increased sickness and quarantine-related staff shortages are to be expected in all areas of public life. The experts also took into account strong increases in corona patients in clinics. They attribute this to the large immunity gaps in the population. Unvaccinated people bear the highest risk of serious illnesses, including those caused by omicron infections. There is a risk of renewed waves of infection by autumn at the latest.
The general obligation to vaccinate should remain
And that’s why it’s now about more independent action on the one hand, and on the other hand what science and government consider necessary. “A high vaccination rate is the basic prerequisite for being able to do without infection protection measures in the long term and to accept a seasonal increase in the number of cases of infection,” says the draft. However, because only a high vaccination rate can prevent a large number of severe cases and the associated burden on the health system, the heads of government should once again reaffirm the need to introduce general vaccination.
The government is making concessions when it comes to implementing the facility-related vaccination requirement from March 15. “The health authorities have a discretion in the implementation of the measures. An entry ban represents the last stage. Therefore, such entry bans will not automatically come into force immediately and comprehensively,” is the suggested wording in the paper.