Merkel announces new lockdown rules - but the first federal states are pulling out directly

The first Corona summit in 2021 in the Chancellery was due.

It was about extending the lockdown.

Some restrictions have been tightened.

• Coronavirus pandemic in Germany *

  : The 

  hard lockdown *

   will be

   extended to January 31

  due to the high number of 

  Covid-19 cases *

  in Germany.

• Chancellor 

  Angela Merkel *

   and the country leaders reached an agreement at the

  Corona summit

  about tightening the

  corona lockdown

  .

• In addition to

  tougher contact rules

  for everyone,

  citizens in

  hotspots

  have

  movement restrictions

  .

• This 

  news ticker

   is updated regularly.

Update from January 5, 11:05 p.m.:

As soon as the new

lockdown regulations have been

announced, resistance is already rising in some countries.

So want

Baden-Wuerttemberg and Lower Saxony

, the

movement restrictions in hotspots

not go.

“We're not currently planning that.

We first have to come up with reliable values ​​next week in order to then decide, ”declared Prime Minister

Winfried Kretschmann

for the south-west of the Federal Republic.

His colleague

Stephan Weil

initially demands a separate justification of proportionality.

The country leaders also disagree on the

extension of the school closings

.

Kretschmann hopes to be able to reopen elementary schools and daycare centers on January 18th.

The day before the infection should be foreseeable as a result of the holidays.

Manuela Schwesig,

as the head of the

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania region,

wants to

enable

face-to-face classes for the graduating classes

as early as next week, and elementary school students whose hometown or district has fewer than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days will follow from January 18.

Update from January 5, 9.47 p.m.:

At the

Corona summit

, Merkel and the country leaders decided to

tighten lockdown measures

.

The people in the Free State are now really feeling this too: in around a

quarter of the Bavarian counties

and cities,

freedom of movement is

drastically restricted.

Bavaria: After the Corona summit - a quarter of the districts are threatened with restriction of freedom of movement

Because in regions with a

seven-day incidence

greater

than 200, citizens are only allowed to stay

within

a radius of 15 kilometers from their place of residence - unless there is a valid reason for further journeys.

We must continue to be smart about the virus for the next few months.

What we need is patience, consideration and understanding.

The more intense the lockdown, the more sustainable and effective it can be.

We must not do the most convenient now, but must do what is decisive.

- Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) January 5, 2021

After the Corona summit: Bavarian hosts criticize the extension of the lockdown

Update from January 5th, 7.45 p.m.:

The press conference is over.

The most important thing in a nutshell: In addition to the

extension of the lockdown to January 31,

including the

closure of schools

,

stricter contact restrictions

apply

and hotspots with an incidence value of more than 200 also have a

range of 15 kilometers

around the city or the district.

It will only be possible to foresee how the holidays will have affected the number of

infections

on January 17,

and the

next

week after the

corona summit in the Chancellery is

due.

Then it comes to the measures for February and March.

Update from January 5, 7:25 p.m.:

The inquiries are also about the

new 15-kilometer leash in the hotspots

.

From where do measurements start?

Merkel explains: “Place of residence is place of residence.

We're not starting to measure from Berlin-Mitte to Spandau or Marzahn. ”So an advantage for people who live in big cities.

The Chancellor went on to explain that the summit was based on the

implementation in Thuringia and Saxony

: “There they have already gained experience with this Radis.” This is primarily intended to prevent tourist excursions.

For the time being, this only applies to

hotspots

, i.e. cities or districts with more than 200 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

Update from January 5, 7:13 p.m.:

In February, of course, everything is not over.

Because the goal must always be to reach “50” or, ideally, to undercut it.

What is meant, of course, is the

incidence value

.

In France and Spain there were

stricter measures

that would have worked - but not to the extent that was necessary.

That should also mean: It also depends on how the rules are followed by the population, and not just how strict they are.

Update from January 5, 7:10 p.m.:

Now Söder is talking about the

schools

and their future teaching characteristics.

The

health of teachers and students should be

paramount.

For Bavaria, the

lockdown measures are being

extended, so there is initially distance training and emergency care.

Update from January 5, 7:05 p.m.:

Söder sees no reason to give the all-clear.

The

current lower numbers

would be due to fewer tests over the holidays.

He assumes that the numbers would rise again.

The important thing is: "Corona keeps coming back." The CSU boss emphasizes: "We do

n't do experiments

." Because a

lockdown

that is

too

loose

would have too little effect.

There is no alternative to the reactions, because other ways would not have been successful.

Here he refers to Sweden, which

had pursued

the plan for early

herd immunity

.

Update from January 5, 7:02 p.m.:

Other new regulations concern

child sickness

benefit

and

entry from risk areas

.

The former will be extended

from ten to 20 days

.

In the latter case, in addition to a

quarantine

obligation, a

corona test

is required, which must be completed

at least 48 hours before or immediately after entry

.

Update from January 5th, 6:58 pm:

Now Müller speaks, who feels "torn back and forth".

Because it's always about what you can allow.

Many numbers are moving in the right direction, a lot has already been achieved.

Nevertheless, the

lockdown extension was

decided unanimously.

The

other contact restrictions

are "additional burdens, but also necessary".

Update from January 5, 6:55 p.m.:

The

lockdown for schools and daycare centers

is also to be extended to January 31.

Each country will decide for itself what exactly means there.

Merkel also praises the

European cooperation in vaccine procurement

, which she defends against strong criticism.

Update from January 5, 6.48 p.m.:

The reins are clearly tightened on the

contacts

.

In addition to the people in your own household, only

one other person

may be

hit in the future.

Before that, five people from two households were allowed to meet.

The corona leash is also coming as expected - this means: In hotspots with

more than 200 infections per 100,000 inhabitants

, citizens are only allowed to move within a

radius of 15 kilometers

around their household, unless there is a valid reason.

Update from January 5, 6.45 p.m.:

According to Merkel, experts were consulted on Monday, with RKI boss Lothar Wieler pointing out that it was not until January 17 that it was really possible to predict how the holidays will affect the

infection rate

.

As expected, the

regulations from December will be extended to January 31

, and there will also be further tightening.

Update from January 5, 6.44 p.m.:

The

press conference

with Angela Merkel, Michael Müller and Markus Söder begins.

Update from January 5, 6.42 p.m.:

Because of the increasing

criticism of

the federal government's

vaccine procurement

,

Angela Merkel

vented

her anger at the Corona summit, as the

picture

reports.

The Chancellor threatened, above all, in the direction of the SPD country chiefs: "If I ever unpack the

mistakes

that went wrong here

in this round

, if I would make it public ..." With this, she is playing on the sometimes too lax measures on, for example with the

Lockdown light

, which was implemented in November but did not bring any improvement in the second wave of infections.

Update from January 5th, 6:34 pm:

Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer warns that "without

active action

this pandemic will lose its strength".

Germany had reached its

borders

and was only able to master the challenges “because we are broadly positioned”.

The CDU politician is alluding to the fact that patients have been admitted to more distant hospitals.

Update from January 5, 6:27 p.m.:

Malu Dreyer has confirmed the

extension of the lockdown to January 31

.

The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate left the Corona summit for a New Year's reception, explaining that the continued restrictions were "part of the decision".

In addition, the SPD politician said: "We all still have

a really big task

ahead of us."

Update from January 5, 6.15 p.m.:

In the meantime, the

Corona summit participants are

advising

according to

picture

information on a hotly discussed topic:

possible openings of schools, daycare centers and kindergartens

.

Here the opinions in the various countries differ widely.

After all, the appointment should already turn into the home straight.

Update from January 5, 5:25 p.m.:

There is still

nothing

in the

Chancellery

indicating an imminent

press conference

.

Meanwhile, experts are already dealing with the possible effects of the proposed

15-kilometer radius of movement

around the place of residence in

hotspots

- and are surprisingly relaxed.

"If the professional mobility remains possible, the economic Surcharges likely within limits," said

Gabriel Felbermayr

, president of the Institute for the World Economy Kiel, the

world

.

Tourism, gastronomy, shopping

trips are not possible anyway.

From the point of view of

Michael Hüther

, Director of the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft (IW), it is crucial that “the trip to the production site remains possible”.

In fact, the effects of the new rule could remain manageable, especially for city dwellers.

On the sidelines of the serious deliberations, there was also reason for a little smile on Tuesday - a linguistic fuzziness in the

draft resolution

is puzzling, as

Merkur.de *

reported.

Corona summit today: Merkel and the Prime Minister are honing movement restrictions - shopping is allowed

Update from January 5, 4:20 p.m.:

The

talks between the Chancellor and Prime Minister

are still ongoing - as expected, it is probably still about the issue of the

restriction of freedom of movement at hotspots

.

According to a report, initial adjustments have already been made compared to the proposed resolution.

In the original version, “shopping”, “day trips” and “traveling” were explicitly excluded as valid reasons for exceptions to the

15-kilometer rule

(see previous update).

According to information from the

picture

, this went too far for some negotiators.

“Shopping” therefore initially became “shopping for non-daily needs” - after a further weakening, the following remained: “

Day trips

are explicitly not a valid reason”.

It is with relief that it will be noted that this ban has remained in some winter sports areas, among others.

Merkel's Corona summit: draft resolution leaked, several new rules - and still a dispute about a measure?

Update from January 5, 3 p.m.:

The

Corona summit

has been running for around

45 minutes

via video

and in the

Chancellery

- apparently after broad agreement had already been reached in preliminary talks.

Münchner Merkur

* has already received the

draft resolution for the ongoing negotiations

.

In addition to the already expected extension of the lockdown until January 31, these

new measures

are mentioned:

• A

  restriction of private meetings

  to a maximum of one additional “person not living in the household”.

• Retirement and nursing homes

  are to be supported by volunteers in carrying out rapid tests.

• Entries from areas with corona mutations

  should be checked more intensively - including the

  quarantine

  of

  those

  entering the country.

  When

  entering from risk areas

  , a test should be mandatory either shortly before departure or upon arrival in Germany.

• In

  2021,

  child sickness benefits

  should be paid out for ten additional days per parent or 20 days for single parents.

• New consultations are planned for January, new measures are to be decided on February 1st.

The controversy is apparently still in the proposed regulation to

limit the range of motion of people in hotspots

.

As previously reported, the rule should

take effect

from a

weekly incidence of 200

and allow movements over more than 15 kilometers only for “valid reasons” -

according to the proposed resolution,

trips, excursions and shopping

should explicitly not be considered valid reasons.

However, the paper has not yet made a final decision as to whether the federal states will “adopt” or “check” this rule.

In the paper, the federal and state governments also get the citizens in the mood for difficult months.

January, February and March

would “require considerable patience and discipline from all,” it says.

The

vaccinations

could probably only dampen the infection dynamics if “a larger part of the young population is also vaccinated”.

The latest mutations of the coronavirus * are viewed “with concern”.

Update from January 5, 2:02 p.m.:

The

restricted range of motion in hotspots

seems a done deal - but there is already content-related criticism of the alleged new regulation.

FDP boss Christian Lindner

pointed out very different effects in town and country on Twitter.

The measure allows “almost everything” in a planned area of ​​15 kilometers in large cities, and life in rural regions is enormously restricted.

“What's that supposed to do?” Asked Lindner.

A fixed #movement radius has completely different consequences in Berlin-Mitte than, for example, in rural areas.

Almost anything remains possible in metropolitan areas, nothing works in rural areas.

What is that supposed to help?

CL

- Christian Lindner (@c_lindner) January 5, 2021

Corona summit: Merkel and countries agree on "radius of motion"?

Update from January 5, 1.40 p.m.:

The

Corona summit

with Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Minister is already lagging behind the schedule: Even at the planned start at 1 p.m., which has already been postponed by two hours, the

video circuit

could not start, as dpa did has experienced.

The reason is apparently difficult negotiations in the preliminary talks - which, according to another media report, resulted in an agreement.

In

hotspots

, the

spatial freedom of movement of citizens

is now apparently to be

restricted

: From a 7-day incidence of

200

, the range of

motion is to be reduced to 15 kilometers

, reports the

image

online.

It was precisely this initiative by Merkel that was clearly controversial.

With the agreement, however, the federal and state governments fell short of a recommendation by several experts - they had proposed a restriction to five kilometers.

Update from January 5, 1:35 p.m.:

With possible

new tightenings

, the

Corona summit will be

more explosive than expected.

But the federal government is also facing other problems in the pandemic, for example with regard to

vaccinations

.

Chancellor

Angela Merkel

(CDU) has now made the further planning a top priority - and thus also “disempowered” her Health Minister Jens Spahn to a certain extent.

As it became known in the morning, a new

high-caliber vaccination working group

under Merkel's leadership will meet tomorrow, Wednesday.

Corona lockdown: summit decision today - restriction of movement and meeting rule like in early 2020?

Update from January 5, 1:05 p.m .:

The

“November lockdown”

has been

running

in Germany

for a

good two months now

- for almost a month in a tightened version.

All of this without much progress in the number of

infections

.

But it seems that politicians can agree

on further

noticeable tightening

at the

Corona summit, which is

starting in these minutes

.

The prime ministers gave the green light at a preliminary meeting, writes the

business magazine Business Insider

.

One specific point: Apparently,

similar contact restrictions as in spring could

apply

until the end of January

.

Meetings only with

one person from another household

would then be allowed.

“There would be a consensus within the countries,” the magazine quoted a participant in the preliminary meeting as saying.

So far, meetings with another household with a total of five people are allowed, not counting children under 14 years of age.

In principle, the country leaders are apparently also open to

restricting the range of motion

.

However, many reservations were also expressed in the preliminary discussion: Accordingly, this should only

apply

in

districts with more than 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants

in one week - and only as one of various measures.

The

Bundestag opposition

sees it differently:

FDP leader Christian Lindner

rejects the restriction largely as disproportionate.

"With an incidence of 100, we consider this to be an absolutely excessive encroachment on people's freedom, which is not based on limiting the pandemic," he said on Tuesday in Berlin.

Lindner pointed out that all opportunities to meet in public space are already severely limited.

The Liberal made an exception, however: "Such a measure would be considered if we are dealing with a hotspot situation (...) with a very high three-digit incidence."

Corona summit on lockdown: Merkel is probably proposing a drastic tightening today

Update from January 5, 11.45 a.m.:

The

extension of the lockdown in Germany

seems to have already been decided in view of the high number of corona cases - but the

Prime Minister and Chancellor Angela Merkel may

also be in position in the afternoon with a much tougher new means of preventing the spread of the pandemic bring.

The

summit starts today

two hours late;

because of further preparatory discussions, as it was said.

Possibly it is about an intended

restriction of the movement radius of citizens

in some parts of the country.

According to information from the dpa from “groups of participants”, the morning debated whether there should be such a rule in circles with a high rate of new infections -

this is already practiced

in

Saxony

,

Thuringia

wants to follow suit.

According to a report by

Business Insider

magazine

, Merkel herself submitted the proposal on Monday.

However, it was still open whether the point would really be included in the decision paper.

A decision should only be made in the afternoon round.

With the possible new measure, the state governments would take up an expert demand (see previous update).

But

surveys

had recently shown doubts among the population about the success of the previous regulations, for example in Bavaria.

Corona consultations today: Experts are apparently calling for clear tightening

Update from January 5th, 10.13 a.m

.: Several top experts are calling for

politicians to

tighten the

corona measures

.

Before the Corona crisis summit, experts from

science were

heard

in a video link with around 60 politicians, including

Angela Merkel (CDU)

and the country leaders.

Charité virologist Prof.

Christian Drosten

,

RKI boss Lothar Wieler

, Prof. Michael Meyer-Hermann from the

Helmholtz Institute

and

physicist Dr.

Viola Priesemann

from the

Max Planck Institute in Göttingen

were among the speakers, according to the

Bild

newspaper, referring to the participants.

Among other things, a target incidence of 10 was discussed, as well as a continuation of school closings, but also the restriction of the range of motion to 5 kilometers.

Corona summit starts two hours later: Further preparatory discussions planned

Update from January 5, 9:19 a.m

.: The

corona crisis summit

between

Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU)

and the heads of government of the states begins today two hours later than planned.

It should now start at 1 p.m. instead of 11 a.m.

"Further preparatory talks" are the reason for this, according to a

government spokesman

.

The Bavarian Prime Minister

Markus Söder

is already positioning himself

with Merkel

before the

Corona summit

.

According to reports from the Funke Medien Gruppe, there is also a tightening of the

lockdown

in the room - which

measures

could be added are therefore still “pending”.

The newspapers of the Funke media group report, citing several state chancelleries in the federal states.

Furthermore, the

sluggish vaccination start is

becoming more and more an issue.

Today first Corona summit 2021: The lockdown is continuing - discussions about school operations

Update from January 5, 6.58 a.m.:

Before the first

corona summit

by the

federal and state governments

in the new year on Tuesday, there are

signs

that

the lockdown will continue

until at least the end of January.

Many country leaders have agreed on this in advance.

On the other hand, the

start of school operations *

in the event of a lockdown extension should cause

discussions

.

Likewise, the problems at the

start of the vaccination

and the resulting

criticism will be

discussed.

Corona lockdown in Germany: Merkel and Prime Minister will debate on Tuesday

Update from January 4, 11:30 p.m.:

Chancellor

Angela Merkel

(CDU) and the Prime Minister will debate on

Tuesday, January 5, starting at 1 p.m.

on the extension of the

corona measures

.

The

Germans can probably not look forward to

a

lockdown end

.

The number of new infections is still alarmingly high - many country leaders have already agreed in advance.

A lockdown extension until the end of January must be expected.

And also with the fact that the schools will remain closed for the time being.

Germany is not alone with the tough measures in the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also imposed a tough lockdown on the UK on Monday evening.

In some regions in Spain even stricter restrictions currently apply *.

Update from January 4, 4:28 p.m.:

In Thuringia, the dispute about the range of

motion of 15 km

seems

to move on.

Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow

(Die Linke) announced on Sunday that, following the example of Saxony

, he would like to limit

people's range of motion to

15 kilometers around their place of residence

.

The

Thuringian CDU

, however, has spoken out against this measure and demands from the

Prime Minister

"better to take care of a better vaccination management than to demonstrate hardship with pseudo-

measures

", said the Secretary General

Christian Herrgott of

the

Thuringian General

.

Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff

(Die Linke), Minister for Culture, Federal and European Affairs and Head of the State Chancellery, considers the statements of the

Thuringian CDU

to be irresponsible.

Since December 2020 @SachsenDe has an exit restriction with 15 km rule (§2b No. 4 SächsCoronaVO).

The denunciation of this as "arrest" on the part of @cdu_thueringen and @cdu_fraktion_th is irresponsible - even for an opposition party that wants to remain one.

https://t.co/jCERtLSJRy

- Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff 🇪🇺 🚩✡️ (@BenjaminHoff) January 4, 2021

Update from January 4, 2:20 p.m.:

An extension of the

corona measures

until the end of January: Most country bosses consider this to be necessary.

The

German Press Agency

learned on Monday from among

the Prime Ministers

that the

federal states led

by the

Union

had already agreed on Sunday evening.

Another source said that only two

SPD-ruled federal states

had a different opinion.

The federal government is also in favor of expanding the corona measures by the end of January.

According to the

editorial network Germany

, federal states with few corona infections want to keep open to discuss the

corona measures

again in two weeks

.

The final decision on how to proceed will be made at the

Corona summit

with Chancellor Merkel and the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

Then the subject of schools will come up again.

The culture ministers of the federal states had already met for a switching conference * on Monday.

#Change lessons, #digital lessons or # face-to-face lessons?

Dealing with #schools in # Corona times is currently one of many hotly debated topics.

Many would like uniform rules, but so far it looks little like them. Https://t.co/zgTxF3puL4

- Merkur.de (@merkur_de) January 4, 2021

Corona summit with Angela Merkel: Numbers in Germany - Malu Dreyer for lockdown extension

Update from January 4th, 1:25 p.m .:

"I am of the opinion that we have to extend it until the end of January," said

Malu Dreyer

(SPD), Prime Minister of

Rhineland-Palatinate

, on Monday in

SWR Aktuell

.

"I think that is also the majority of my colleagues".

You don't have the numbers you need to relax the

corona measures

.

“At the moment we cannot really estimate what the situation is like, also because fewer tests were carried out and fewer doctors were open,” added Dreyer with regard to the holidays and the turn of the year.

However, she also emphasized in the interview that there had to be “very clear suggestions” by the end of January on how to proceed.

According to the Prime Minister, it is inconceivable "that we will remain in such a

shutdown situation

permanently

".

The

corona vaccination

provides hope

.

Malu #Dreyer: We have to lower numbers in order to gradually bring public life back up.

# Corona 7-day incidence still too high, employees in hospital & health department still at the limit.

Holiday effects only visible in 1 week.

PM: https://t.co/mfQxZaKjFt #RLP pic.twitter.com/e5tZ53XkpM

- State government of Rhineland-Palatinate (@rlpNews) January 3, 2021

Corona lockdown apparently decided: The federal and state governments will discuss the corona summit on Tuesday

First report from January 4th, 12.30 p.m.:

Berlin - The most important Corona decision of the young year 2021 seems to have been made: According to current information, the

lockdown in Germany is

to be extended until January 31st.

The federal and state governments should have decided that, as the

Bild newspaper

claims to have learned.

The Federal Chancellery and the federal states would have already

agreed

before the

Corona summit

on Tuesday, January 5th.

Clear calls for an extended

corona lockdown

had

already been

loud.

Several Prime Ministers had called for this, including the Bavarian Prime Minister

Markus Söder *

, Thuringia's Prime Minister

Bodo Ramelow

and

Michael Kretschmer

, Saxony's Prime Minister.

The lockdown must be extended until the end of January.

Any hasty easing would throw us back a long way.

The numbers are simply far too high.

As much as it annoys you, we have to be consistent and not give up too soon.

- Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) January 3, 2021

Corona Germany: Lockdown is apparently being extended - summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel

“The lockdown has to be extended until the end of January.

Premature 

loosening

 would throw us back a long way, ”Söder had

tweeted

in the run-up to the

Corona summit

.

The

corona infection numbers

are simply still too high.

The Bavarian Prime Minister also emphasized that vaccinations are the only long-term strategy against Corona.

Before that, the criticism of Jens Spahn increased because of the initially scarce vaccine * from the manufacturer

Biontech

.

There has also recently been criticism of the

Corona hotspot strategy

.

"You now have to state that this 

hotspot strategy

 with the incidence levels 35 and 50 has not proven itself," said

Heike Werner 

(Linke), Minister of Health of the State of

Thuringia

.

“In retrospect, it might have been good if the country bosses had agreed

 to go

into

lockdown

earlier 

.

SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach also spoke out in favor of a lower limit for ending the restrictions.

Lockdown in Germany: Merkel talks to country bosses - Corona numbers must fall

On Tuesday,

Angela Merkel *

 and the country leaders will still talk about easing and extending the corona lockdowns.

The goal is

 to reduce the number of

new corona infections

per 100,000 inhabitants to below 50 within a week.

The number of infections in Germany is still high.

(aka) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.

List of rubric lists: © Michael Kappeler / afp