The quarantine obligation due to Corona in Lower Saxony has been suspended. Now other federal states are also following suit. Vacation is possible again.
- The quarantine obligation in Lower Saxony has been abolished.
- A fortnightly quarantine had previously been imposed after vacationing or traveling to another country.
- Now other federal states like North Rhine-Westphalia are following suit.
Update from Friday, May 15th, 2020, 10:23 am: After the quarantine obligation was suspended in the state of Lower Saxony , North Rhine-Westphalia is now following. Nationwide, the quarantine obligation is also to fall.
NRW has been facilitating entry from neighboring European countries since Friday (May 15, 2020) , said the North Rhine-Westphalian state government. In addition to the EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland are also exempt from the quarantine requirement.
Corona in Lower Saxony: Quarantine obligation also lifted in NRW - Good news for vacation
The relaxation of the quarantine obligation is a "sign of good neighborliness and more Europe," said NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet. This is also good news for vacationers . However, if the number of new corona infections in one of the countries rises above 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, the quarantine obligation would be reintroduced.
Anyone who travels to the Benelux, France or other EU countries no longer has to go into quarantine every two weeks. According to today's agreement with the federal government, the new regulation will apply from midnight. Europe must fight the pandemic together and not with border closures. #mehreuropa https://t.co/ERoVywl4WU
- Armin Laschet (@ArminLaschet) May 14, 2020For entering the country from third countries will continue to apply. Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans and the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, also announced that Corona would abolish the quarantine requirement for travelers from the Schengen area.
Quarantine obligation in Lower Saxony: What the verdict means for vacation despite Corona
Update from Thursday, May 14th, 2020, 11:21 am: The state of Lower Saxony does not want to go any special route after the quarantine obligation for travelers from abroad has been lifted by the Lower Administrative Court of Lower Saxony. In addition, controls at German borders are to be gradually relaxed.
Advice from the federal and state governments on the continuation and form of a quarantine obligation for people returning to or coming from Germany after a trip abroad should be awaited, a spokesman for the Ministry of Social Affairs on Wednesday in Hanover.
Vacation despite Corona: quarantine obligation in Lower Saxony lifted
The Higher Administrative Court of Lower Saxony has overridden the obligation in the Corona Regulation to go into quarantine after a stay of more than two days abroad - for example vacation or business trips . In addition, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer (CSU) recommended that the federal states abolish the rule that anyone traveling from a neighboring European country must stay in Corona quarantine for two weeks .
In future, the obligation will only apply to people who have previously been in third countries. According to this, Germans who arrive from France or the Netherlands, for example, are no longer subject to the quarantine requirement .
Quarantine obligation in Lower Saxony: Border controls are relaxed despite Corona
However, the decision about the quarantine obligation lies with the federal states. In addition, Seehofer announced that the controls introduced at the German border due to the corona pandemic should be gradually relaxed from this Saturday (May 16, 2020). However, German citizens will continue to do without tourist trips abroad in the coming weeks.
Corona in Lower Saxony: quarantine obligation suspended
First report from Wednesday, May 13th, 2020, 11.03am: Lüneburg - The Higher Administrative Court in Lower Saxony has suspended the general quarantine obligation to protect against the spread of corona . As a result, people entering the country from abroad no longer have to stay in quarantine for 14 days. The judges thus granted the urgent request of the owner of a holiday home property in Sweden.
Corona quarantine obligation in Lower Saxony: Paragraphs of the Corona ordinance overruled by judgment
The latter resisted the paragraph of the Lower Saxony Corona Ordinance . It states: “People who travel to Lower Saxony by land, sea or air must (...) separate themselves. They are obliged to go straight to their apartment (…) immediately after entering the country and to stay there for a period of 14 days after their arrival. ”
According to the paragraph, everyone returning from vacation is subject to a quarantine obligation . That went too far for the plaintiff from Lower Saxony. After returning to Germany, he should have been in a fortnightly quarantine . The three judges of the 13th Senate at the OVG in Lüneburg also saw it that way and abolished the quarantine obligation in Lower Saxony with their judgment.
Quarantine obligation in Lower Saxony: judgment makes vacation possible despite Corona
One of the judges' arguments: The Infection Protection Act only allows regulation by ordinance under certain conditions - such as suspects or sick people. In view of the worldwide number of cases, a person arriving from abroad cannot, however, be regarded as a general suspect of illness or infection.
Lower Saxony: No quarantine without concrete suspicion https://t.co/AmVUk6VY35 # Quarantine # Obligation # enforcement
- Tagesschau (@tagesschau) May 12, 2020Furthermore, it is possible to initiate a quarantine if there is a specific suspicion . It is also possible to identify areas of risk by law that justify the imposition of a quarantine obligation. Alternatively, the state could oblige people arriving from abroad to report immediately to the relevant infection control authorities. Measures could then be taken through tests and surveys.
Quarantine obligation suspended in Lower Saxony: Are other federal states following in the corona crisis?
The Lower Administrative Court in Lüneburg is the highest administrative court in Lower Saxony . The decision, with which the quarantine obligation was overridden, only refers to the regulation of the Lower Saxony Corona Infection Protection Act. It therefore only applies to this federal state. Vacationers in other federal states are not directly affected by the judgment .
There are similar rules in other federal states. The federal government and the states had previously drawn up a model regulation, on the basis of which all states had drawn up quarantine regulations under their own responsibility . Vacationers returning from another country, for example, have to spend 14 days in quarantine in Bavaria . This regulation was decided on April 10th. Until June 10th, there is also a quarantine requirement for vacationers returning to Hessen . Likewise in other federal states.
It would be conceivable that other federal states would follow suit after the decision of the Higher Administrative Court in Lower Saxony. If there are similar lawsuits before courts in other federal states, there may also be relaxation here. North Rhine-Westphalia and the Saarland have already announced that the 14-day quarantine obligation will soon be abolished.
By Luisa Ebbrecht
Further news on the subject of Corona in Lower Saxony * can be found in the news ticker. Most recently, a hairdresser in Lower Saxony violated the ban on contacts. Relaxations were recently agreed in Lower Saxony. However, the Corona contact lock * still remains.
* hna.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
