Hotels, restaurants and cafes can reopen one by one. You can now eat and drink in restaurants and other restaurants. But that doesn't mean normality.
Berlin (dpa) - Nationwide, the corona rules for the hospitality industry are relaxed. But if you go to restaurants, cafés or hotels, you have to follow a few rules. The reopening in the hospitality industry comes with some restrictions.
WHAT HAS OPENED AND WHERE?
As of this Monday, restaurants have opened in almost all federal states. Exceptions apply to Bavaria, where only beer gardens and outdoor areas are allowed to open, and Saxony-Anhalt. There, hosts need a special permit from the district if they want to open on May 18th.
Hotels and apartments in Hamburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony or Thuringia can already receive overnight guests again. From Monday this will also apply to Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is still subject to an entry ban until May 25, but hotels and apartments are open to overnight guests from the federal state from Monday. In some countries, guests may initially only be accommodated in holiday apartments, for example in Brandenburg. Accommodation should be bookable in all federal states by the end of May.
WHAT DO I NEED TO CONSIDER BEFORE?
For example, if you want to go out to eat in Kiel, you have to register with your address and telephone number. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, there is no reservation requirement. Taking mouth-nose protection cannot hurt either. In many restaurants, guests first have to register on site. In Bremen, for example, this is mandatory, in Berlin there is only one recommendation. In many restaurants, guests are allocated seats. Often it is only allowed to be served at the table. Nobody is allowed to sit at counters in many places.
WHAT ABOUT DISTANCE RULES?
Nationwide distance rules still apply. In the restaurant, tables and chairs usually have to be 1.5 meters apart. There are exceptions for couples, for example. When checking in to the hotel, contacts between employees and guests should also be limited to what is necessary. In many places, distance markings and partitions should ensure regulated and safe guest traffic. In Hessen, the rule of thumb for restaurants is one person per five square meters. With an area of 100 square meters, only 20 guests can be catered for.
WHAT ARE THE HYGIENE REGULATIONS?
In some restaurants, for example in Rhineland-Palatinate or Brandenburg, guests have to disinfect their hands before entering the restaurant. Used dishes in Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, have to be cleaned with a dishwasher at a minimum of 60 degrees - the usual cleaning of glasses in basins with rinsing and clear water is not possible at first.
In Saxony, for example, menus must be washable. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania salt shakers must also be disinfected after use. Objects for general use such as salt shakers, pepper mills or cutlery containers are not permitted in Hessen. Buffets are not prohibited. However, the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs recommends that these be avoided or that there is no self-service.
WHERE DO I NEED TO WEAR A MASK?
Anyone who goes out to eat in Mainz must wear mouth and nose protection inside and outside, and guests can only take it off while they are sitting at the table. The protection must be removed again when going to the toilet. As of this Monday, the following also applies in beer gardens and outside areas of restaurants in Bavaria: Anyone who gets up must put on a mask. In some cases, the employees are also obliged to wear mouth and nose protection. Elsewhere, only one recommendation applies.
Who can sit at the table with whom?
In most cases, because of the applicable contact restrictions, people from two households are allowed to sit at the table with each other - for example, two families, couples, shared apartments or individuals. For example, there is no maximum number of people per table in North Rhine-Westphalia. However, many facilities should be able to accommodate fewer guests than usual due to the distance requirement. In Schleswig-Holstein, a maximum of 50 guests may stay in a guest room. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a maximum of six people can sit at one table.
ARE THERE CAPACITY LIMITS IN HOTELS?
Here too, a look at the regulations of the individual countries helps. Hotels and apartments in Schleswig-Holstein, for example, have no capacity limit. In Lower Saxony, where hotels are due to open on May 25th, there is a maximum occupancy limit of 50 percent. There is also a staggered maximum occupancy in Saarland.
WHAT ARE THE OPENING HOURS?
That also varies from country to country. In many places, restaurants are allowed to open between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, makes no specifications for this.
DO PUBS, BARS AND SHISHA CAFÉS OPEN AGAIN?
Many pubs and bars are currently closed. In contrast to restaurants, cafés and pubs, North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, does not allow bars to be reopened until further notice, since the corresponding distance rules could not be observed. Bars and pubs are also closed in Berlin. Smoking restaurants and shisha bars are also not allowed to open. It is not yet certain when these companies will be able to receive guests again.
WHO CAN STAY IN THE HOTELS?
There are no upper limits for many accommodations. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, for example, hotels are initially only open to locals, and guests from other federal states can also come from May 25th. Until June, the houses there can only be used to 60 percent. Apartments have also been open in Saxony-Anhalt since Friday, but hotels are to follow on May 22nd only for guests from their own country. Shortly thereafter, visits from other regions should also be possible.
WHAT'S CHANGING IN THE HOTEL OFFER?
For example, some hotels do not want to make the beds in the rooms every day. In addition, some hotels should indicate whether telephones, a remote control or bathrobes have been disinfected. Breakfast times are partially extended. Indoor pools or saunas are taboo in many hotels.
Ministry of Economy on the Corona rules for restaurants
If possible, sit outside or ventilate a lot in restaurants: In view of the nationwide loosening of the corona rules for the hospitality industry, experts are focusing on prevention against the transmission of the virus through the air. As far as possible, guests of restaurants should sit outside, said Andreas Podbielski, Director of the Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene at the University Medical Center Rostock, the dpa. "There are practically no infections. The corona virus is largely transmitted via the air." On the other hand, the draft protected outside.