Icon: enlarge
Screen with hygiene measures in a hotel in Munich, June 2020
Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa
It sounds like good news to many, so shortly before the festival: Up to ten people can come together on Christmas and New Year's Eve, with the exception of hotspots like Berlin.
But anyone who already consults with the family on how and where the festivities should take place in compliance with the rules quickly realizes that there is a catch: Hotels should still remain closed to travelers.
That does not make sense.
First things first: not every family has space to let grandma, grandpa, aunt or brother stay with them.
Not everyone has a house, a guest room, or a large sofa bed.
If more than two households want to spend the party together, it will be tight even in the larger apartments.
But even if there is enough space - not everyone who wants to spend Christmas with the family also wants to sleep with their relatives.
Apparently some states see it that way, which is why five are now decoupling from the federal recommendation: Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and, since the weekend, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Anyone who goes on a trip to relatives, "must have the chance to stay the night somewhere," said Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU).
Chancellery chief Helge Braun is upset because, in his opinion, there is a risk of a tourist offer through the back door.
And Chancellor Angela Merkel also criticizes the decision of the federal states not to support the overnight stay ban.
It is true that it is difficult to verify whether hotel guests want to visit their families or whether they are tourists.
However, this uncertainty applies to most of the corona restrictions.
So far, too, it has not been possible to check who the hotels receive as guests: "Business trips" are allowed, no tourist trips, but nobody can really check that either.
So, as is so often the case with the Corona rules, trust is required.
Because those who still haven't understood that now is not the time for city trips over Christmas have not recognized the seriousness of the situation, even with closed hotels.
From a medical point of view, Christmas is a festival of aerosols.
Many people eat, drink and laugh in a confined space for hours without a mask or distance.
The situation is exacerbated when everyone also sleeps under one roof.
If the hotels are open, there would be another, better option: Strict hygiene measures such as mask requirements, minimum distance and cleaning several times a day apply.
Hotel bars are still closed.
It is much more dangerous when people have to look for other places to stay out of necessity.
In the worst case, they switch to other offers in order to rent a free room in another private apartment.
The situation is also precarious for the hotels that are struggling financially to survive: they would have the chance to fill a few beds again over the Christmas holidays for the first time in months.
Instead, only those who are in one of the federal states that do not want to pronounce the ban can be happy now.
This is the well-known patchwork quilt in Germany, which has unfair consequences for both business owners and citizens: Not everyone has the same chance of a safe retreat and a bed to sleep over the holidays.
Icon: The mirror
