The federal states are currently outbidding themselves with corona loosening. What do Chancellor Merkel and the Prime Minister want to talk about on May 6?
- On May 6, the federal and state governments will again discuss the corona measures * with Chancellor Merkel .
- The tone in the debate about Corona * loosening * is becoming sharper.
- The first details of the corona loosening * were leaked in advance .
- Here is our Corona Virus Reporting Guide *, the Sars CoV-2 basic facts *, the number of cases * for Germany and our “Corona News” * on Facebook.
Update May 5, 8:02 pm: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) spoke at a meeting of the Union faction for further easing of the corona requirements. There is a "understandable way" a great desire for further relief, said Merkel on Tuesday in a digital session of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, as the AFP news agency learned from participants. The chancellor had spoken in favor of gradually opening schools and daycare centers again - and also sports, from the Bundesliga to mass sports.
At the meeting, Merkel pointed out that these decisions were the responsibility of the federal states, AFP said. According to the participants, she combined her comments with a reminder: With all upcoming easing steps, care must be taken not to start a second wave of infections.
The Chancellor expressly spoke in favor of a regionally graded approach. For the easing decisions, the infection events in the individual counties must be taken into account.
Legal experts question the basis for exit restrictions
Update May 5, 6:57 pm: Legal experts from the Bundestag doubt the legal basis for the exit restrictions imposed in the Corona crisis . There are "legal and factual concerns" that the ban on trips abroad can be justified as the Federal Ministry of the Interior did, for good reasons, writes the scientific service of the Bundestag. The political group's spokeswoman for the left, Ulla Jelpke, made the paper public on Tuesday. The ARD capital studio had previously reported on it. Travel restrictions have been in effect in the Corona crisis since mid-March, with exceptions for commuters, among others.
The Interior Ministry justified its order with the protection of the population against a pandemic and with the fact that the performance of the health system must be ensured. "A collapsing health system would have dramatic consequences and would mean a significant disruption to public security," write the Bundestag experts.
Borders could become more permeable again from mid-May
Update May 5, 6:25 pm: The borders between Germany and its neighbors could become more permeable again from mid-May. According to information from the German Press Agency, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) and Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther have already spoken specifically about a concept of how to contain the corona virus and applicable quarantine regulations, if necessary, even without formal border controls. A joint situation report by the Ministry of Health and the interior ministry says that a “gradual opening of the border” in the north is planned.
Appropriate concepts are already being discussed between the Federal Ministry of the Interior and other federal states with borders where controls are currently taking place. Seehofer extended the controls ordered at the borders to Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland in mid-March from Monday to May 15.
Coronavirus: Merkel wants to talk about easing - local measures are conceivable
Update May 5, 4:52 pm: According to Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), the fight against the corona pandemic has developed very well in recent days. Therefore, one can now talk about further easing , Merkel said on Tuesday at the meeting of the Union faction, as the German Press Agency learned from the participants. The debate about openings has gained a lot of momentum.
Merkel made it clear that if an infection was found in a region, measures had to be taken locally so that the whole of Germany was not affected again. This is also important in view of the fact that there will soon be easing in the hotels and restaurants. Because then it comes back to travel in Germany and the risk of new infections increases.
It is therefore important, among other things, that contact tracking continues to work and that sufficient intensive care beds are available. There is understandably a great deal of impatience with the easing. This is particularly sensitive when it comes to school openings , restaurants and hotels . You are still in a fragile situation. One also needed concepts of the countries for the cultural area or for the professional as well as the mass sport.
Restaurants in Berlin could open next week
Update May 5, 4:28 pm: Berlin has announced a first phase of relaxation in the catering trade for the coming week. "It doesn't have to be Monday, but maybe in the course of the next week," said Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) after a Senate meeting on Tuesday. "It is becoming apparent that something can happen there very quickly," he said of the catering trade.
Müller will be able to follow this with a gap of about "a week, ten days" . However, he recalled that the development of infection numbers was crucial. The Senate wants to discuss details of the easing in a special session with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on Wednesday after the heads of state government telephones.
Update of May 5, 3:50 p.m .: North Rhine-Westphalia is lifting the corona-related ban on visits to retirement and nursing homes . As of next Sunday, residents of these homes in NRW can once again get family and friends to visit them, the NRW Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday. However, there are strict requirements for visits . The ban had been in effect since mid-March.
Germany resembles a patchwork of corona loosening
Update of May 5, 3:38 p.m .: Many federal states are already creating facts before the next top discussion on how to proceed in the corona crisis. Bavaria will soon open the beer gardens, Baden-Württemberg allows sports such as outdoor tennis, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania opens the hotels again. The Federal Government apparently wants to make further regional easing dependent on the development of the infection numbers.
The Prime Ministers of the federal states will discuss the next steps with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on Wednesday. However, many decisions have already been made by state governments on their own. From May 18, Bavaria will open the beer gardens subject to conditions, as Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) said on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting. As of Wednesday, the previous exit restriction will no longer apply.
From May 30th, hotels, holiday apartments and campsites can also be used again. Leisure facilities such as castles and amusement parks can then also open. The Bavarian concept also provides relief for schools, nursing homes and shops.
Bremen decided on Tuesday to implement the easing measures adopted last week, such as opening playgrounds and museums. Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) said with a view to Wednesday that Hamburg is ready to take "bigger steps" than recently in the areas of schools, day care centers, sports and gastronomy. He thinks opening the hotels in May is "conceivable".
According to Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens), gastronomy in Baden-Württemberg can also hope to reopen soon. From next week on, contactless outdoor sports such as tennis and golf will again be allowed.
In Saxony-Anhalt, tourism should gradually start up again from May 15th. From May 22nd, restaurants should also be able to open again.
Before the Corona summit: Merkel wants upper infection limit - Lindner puts massive pressure on Chancellor
Update May 5, 2:50 p.m .: The pressure on politics and thus on Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to increase before the summit on Wednesday. Both the opposition party FDP and business representatives called for Bild to have a clear schedule to relax the measures and consequently to ramp up the economy.
FDP chief Christian Lindner wants the chancellor and country heads to decide on further - and nationwide - easing at their deliberations on Wednesday. He said: "We have to act now. Tomorrow there has to be a different crisis management. "
Holger Lösch, Vice-Chief of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) called the situation "very, very serious". "We need a clear signal that we can really start, start up businesses." This requires "clear, binding guidelines" from politics. "The expectations, not only in the economy, are very high," said the BDI Vice.
Bavaria already started today, as you can read here.
Lindner went one step further and called for normalization in healthcare. "The development of the corona case numbers must now also have consequences in medicine," he said on Tuesday in Berlin. “Because of the pandemic, regular healthcare provision has been restricted in many places. This has to be stopped now. ”Normalization is urgently required, as the health consequences would otherwise massively outweigh the benefits of containing the pandemic, Lindner warned. “Many patients have fallen behind in the past few weeks. If that continues, there will be real health risks. "
Secret plan for 2nd lock-down? Chancellor's office does not deny media report
Update of May 5, 12:06 p.m .: The easing , which will be decided at the Corona summit on May 6, could well be withdrawn again. According to Bild.de , the Chancellery has a clear idea of when this could happen.
As the newspaper claims to have learned from a phone call from Chancellor Helge Braun (CDU) and the country heads , the criteria are: If a district has more than 35 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days that are not in one place - about one Retirement home - occur, the district must return to the Corona requirements of April 20.
This would mean that facilities that opened after this deadline would have to close again - for example schools, hairdressing salons and parts of the retail trade. A usgangs- and contact restrictions would take effect again. This should not apply if the infections only occur in one place - for example in a retirement home.
The B undeskanzleramt wanted the information neither confirm nor deny . "The confidential discussions between the head of the Federal Chancellery and the heads of the state and senate offices about further measures in the corona crisis are ongoing," said a government spokesman when asked by the AFP news agency. "Decisions are made in the meeting between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister."
Before Corona summit with Merkel: details penetrated - there is a clear relaxation
Update of May 5 : After the federal states organized a race for the fastest introduced corona measures , there is now apparently a race for the fastest corona loosening . According to a picture report at the federal-state consultations on May 6th with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) a clear ban on contact is to be relaxed - Saxony-Anhalt has allowed gatherings of up to five people since May 4th .
RKI on corona pandemic: second wave expected in Germany
Meanwhile, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) warned in its press conference that there will be “with great certainty a second wave * ” of the corona pandemic in Germany. Many scientists would even expect a third wave.
When asked how Germany would deal with a second wave and whether corona loosening * could possibly be withdrawn again, RKI manager Lothar Wieler replied that the preparation would definitely be better, for example because the staff now had experience with corona patients and the health care system has been expanded for a pandemic.
Before Corona summit with Merkel: strict contact barriers crumble
First report from May 4th:
Berlin - Germany is eagerly awaiting May 6th. Then the next federal-state consultations with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) . As the picture wants to know, the federal states want to enforce corona loosening - especially when it comes to the ban on contacts * .
Corona Summit with Merkel: Relaxation of the Contact Block?
In a preparatory conference call by the heads of the state chancelleries for the Corona summit, it was said that meetings of up to five people could be allowed again - as was the case this Monday in Saxony-Anhalt , the newspaper reports. So far, there has been a limit of two people who do not belong to the same household.
Government spokesman Steffen Seibert emphasized again before the federal-state consultations with Merkel that the Chancellor consults closely with researchers when considering the corona requirements *:
Chancellor #Merkel on the importance of #Science in the current situation. #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/xTGA8hy5VK
- Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecher) April 30, 2020Corona Talk at Anne Will (ARD) - Markus Söder (CSU) comments on easing contact ban
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) , who coordinates the federal states as the current chairman of the prime ministerial conference, said in the ARD program "Anne Will" * am when asked about the expansion to up to five people: "I don't know anything about that." He added: "There is a lot of talk."
Corona summit with Merkel: Bundesliga ghost games and Sky on the agenda
On the topic of football , the Bild newspaper wrote about the conference call: "For the approval of so-called ghost games of the Bundesliga (without spectators in the stadium) planned for May, a regulation is to be found to broadcast these games on public TV."
The background is that the subscription channel Sky has acquired the TV rights to the games of the current season and the country heads fear that there could be real Sky parties by football fans. That is why Bavaria should clarify with the broadcaster up to the federal-state consultations with Merkel * on Wednesday under which conditions the games could also be shown on public radio.
Gastronomy in the Corona crisis: easing before Pentecost?
For the gastronomy, a plan should also be submitted by Wednesday under which conditions restaurants could reopen before Pentecost, the newspaper wrote. Domestic tourism * should also be approached carefully, according to the picture in the conference call. It is therefore conceivable to first allow the rental of holiday apartments again.
Saxony also suggested that the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) * have a concept drawn up for the risks of individual German regions so that travel restrictions * could possibly be imposed on them, the report said. Bayern * refused.
dpa / frs
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
List of rubric lists: © AFP / KAY NIETFELD
