Corona crisis: Bundestag and Bundesrat decide on new infection protection law

The Bundestag and Bundesrat want to vote on the third civil protection package to combat the corona pandemic.

Opponents of the state's corona policy are outraged.

• The measures to combat the

  corona pandemic

  should be supported by law.

• That is why there are

  votes on the Infection Protection Act

  in the Bundestag and Bundesrat in

  Berlin

  .

• Protests

  against the corona measures are expected

  in the capital

  .

Berlin - Today, Wednesday (November 18, 2020), the new version of the

go

through the

as a fast-track procedure

.

The aim of the change is above all to legally underpin measures to combat the corona pandemic that have so far been issued by the government by ordinance and thus to create more legal certainty.

At 12 noon the Bundestag in Berlin will discuss the draft of the

coalition groups in the second and third readings

and then vote.

The Federal Council will then also decide on this in a special meeting at 3 p.m.

Federal President

will possibly draft the law on the same day so that it can come into force.

Corona: Protests expected in Berlin

Opponents of the state's

have called for protests.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior did not allow rallies directly at the Bundestag and Bundesrat in the so-called pacified district.

However, meetings of opponents of the

were also registered elsewhere in Berlin.

The

preparing for a major operation.

+

The new Infection Protection Act will be voted on in the Bundestag in Berlin.

© Kay Nietfeld / dpa

The Infection Protection Act had already been reformed several times in the wake of the corona pandemic.

Right at the beginning of the spring, it was introduced that the Bundestag can determine an

of national importance.

The Bundestag did this immediately, giving the Federal Ministry of Health special powers to issue statutory ordinances without the Bundesrat having to consent.

Normally, government ordinances require a yes from the

.

The state of the epidemic is still valid today - but the Bundestag can end it at any time.

Corona in Germany: New paragraph will be inserted into the law

With the amendment to the law, a new paragraph 28a will be

inserted

into the

.

It lists in detail which protective measures can be prescribed by state governments and competent authorities to contain the corona pandemic.

These include:

,

restrictions in private and public spaces, the restriction or prohibition of

, travel, cultural, sporting and leisure

, the closing of shops or the

a

in public spaces.

Essentially, these are the measures that were already taken during the

in the spring and in some cases also apply to the partial lockdown in November.

In the past it was often criticized that the ordinance would encroach on the

of citizens

for an indefinite period of time

.

Now it is stipulated that such ordinances are to be limited in time.

In principle, they should be valid for four weeks.

However, it can be extended.

In addition, the

must be

provided with a general justification.

Corona: Compensation claims for parents who cannot work

Among other things, new rules for

.

Compensation claims for parents who cannot work because of childcare are to be extended and expanded until March 2021.

Anyone who

makes

an "avoidable trip" to

, on the other hand, should

not receive any compensation for loss of earnings

for a

required after return

.

The federal government should be able to regulate that uninsured persons are also entitled to

.

Hospitals that suspend operations should receive financial compensation.

The

considers the new corona regulations not yet determined enough and therefore constitutionally questionable.

It also lacks

stronger participation rights

.

And she criticizes the fast pace at which the law is to be passed in Berlin.

The government's draft law continues the concentration of decision-making power in the home of Health Minister

, said left leader

on Tuesday.

According to parliamentary group leader

does not want to agree

to the draft

.

The

has also announced this.

“For us, the government's room for maneuver in encroaching on fundamental rights is still too great,” said parliamentary group leader

.

Berlin: Criticism from opponents of the corona policy

The criticism from opponents of the state corona policy culminates in the accusation that the amendment is an

.

Democracy will be suspended and the road to

be taken.

The opponents are alluding to the Enabling Act of the National Socialists of 1933, with which the Reichstag disempowered itself and transferred the legislation to Adolf Hitler.

Foreign Minister

, among others,

strictly

rejected this comparison

on Twitter: “Completely regardless of whether you think they are right: The corona measures that we are adopting have nothing to do with the Enabling Act.

Anyone who makes such infamous comparisons mocks the victims of National Socialism and shows that they learn nothing from history. "

Completely regardless of whether you consider them to be right: The corona measures that we are resolving have nothing to do with the # Enabling Act.

Anyone who makes such infamous comparisons mocks the victims of National Socialism and shows that they learn nothing from history.

- Heiko Maas 🇪🇺 (@HeikoMaas) November 17, 2020

Many

have been inundated by a flood of critical spam emails in the past few days and have been asked to prevent the new law.

His office alone had received around 37,000 such emails by Tuesday morning, reported CSU regional group leader

.

The vast majority have identical passages in the text.

Who is behind it cannot be clarified.

The FDP and the Greens also reported something similar.

In addition, the critics

called

for

during the deliberations of the Bundestag and Bundesrat in Berlin

.

In the immediate vicinity of the headquarters of the two constitutional bodies, however, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has not approved twelve demonstrations.

(talk to dpa / epd / afp)

List of rubric lists: © Kay Nietfeld / dpa