The federal-state summit with Angela Merkel on Wednesday is over.
The lockdown has been extended.
But for the first time, a specific opening step was linked to an incidence value.
The Corona * summit between the federal and state governments has ended.
The lockdown in Germany will be extended until March 7th.
The 35 becomes the new 50!
A new incidence value for openings has been set
(see update from February 10th, 6:39 pm and update from 8:30 pm)
.
This news ticker is updated regularly.
Update from February 10th, 9 p.m .:
The corona summit is over.
At a press conference, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder and Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller presented the resolutions.
The lockdown was extended to March 7 at the federal-state summit.
A new incidence value has been set from which openings should be decided.
This is now below 35. Hairdressers should be allowed to reopen from March 1st.
School and daycare openings are the sovereignty of the federal states.
Michael Müller has already announced February 22nd for Berlin.
In addition, it should be checked whether educators and teachers move up to priority group two when vaccinating against the coronavirus.
The conversation between the Chancellery and the country bosses was under the sign of the spreading corona variants.
8.30 p.m .:
"I am one of those who believe that an opening strategy must be a mixture of predictability, plannability, but also flexibility," said Merkel.
Today, for the first time, a specific opening step was linked to an incidence - below 35.
You now have to see how things develop.
The mutation is an uncertainty that will gain the upper hand.
"We have to live with this new virus".
It underscores the importance of contact tracking, otherwise you would quickly find yourself back in exponential growth.
"And that's why we have to go down, down, down with the number of cases," says Merkel.
The press conference is now over.
8:24 pm:
"I don't know exactly, but I think group two will get the first vaccination before the summer break," said Angela Merkel on the question of when the vaccinations for teachers and educators could take place.
Meanwhile, Markus Söder is satisfied with the result of the conference.
He was glad that the temptation had been resisted to give in to the "open" mood.
Nevertheless, people have been given a perspective.
Corona summit: Angela Merkel, Markus Söder and Michael Müller present the resolutions in a press conference
8:18 p.m.:
Can you rely on the incidence value of 35 as the threshold or that it will continue to decrease, a journalist wants to know.
Merkel explains that the difference between 50 and 35 is not far.
However, the numbers should not be “the end of the line”.
In the summer the incidence was sometimes three.
"We must by no means be satisfied with a sideways movement with a number of 35," said Merkel.
The mutation could accelerate all of this again.
Michael Müller also emphasizes that the number 30, 35 was not taken out of thin air, but "learned in the last few months" - with reference to Bavaria and Berlin.
8.10 p.m.:
The journalists' question and answer session is first about schools and the federal approach.
"I just said to myself that we have a lot in common, then as Federal Chancellor I have to accept that our federal structure is such that the educational sovereignty lies with the states," says Merkel.
Then she goes into the situation of the educators and teachers.
“That doesn't mean that a vaccination can be given immediately, but it is a signal,” said Merkel.
Corona summit is over - Söder emphasizes the importance of hairdressers for people
8:05 p.m .:
“Be careful with perspective.
Perspective with caution, ”is the motto, says Söder.
The promise was kept to prioritize families, he says, referring to school and daycare openings.
Now he is moving on to the subject of hairdressers, which, according to Söder, also has something to do with dignity for many people.
Citizens should be able to "find themselves" in the pandemic.
The Prime Minister emphasizes that it is clear to him how much the people are burdened.
Germany opens more slowly and more cautiously than other countries, but this is how you create a "safety buffer."
8:03 p.m .:
"Closing means courage, opening means cleverness," says Markus Söder, who is now speaking.
Reality has shown that the measures make sense.
"The situation is better, the mood is more difficult," said the Bavarian Prime Minister.
8:02 p.m.:
It is important to give culture a perspective again, says Müller.
Many prime ministers were considering what a master plan could look like for the next few months.
“In this respect, I believe that it was a successful and important day in the context of fighting the pandemic.
Schools and daycare centers: According to Michael Müller, Berlin will be based on February 22nd
8 pm:
“We're talking about gradually increasing face-to-face teaching, starting at primary schools,” emphasizes Müller.
He underlines the importance of test options.
For Berlin and also for other countries, orientate yourself on February 22nd.
Now it comes to the subject of hairdressers - even if the great importance is not entirely clear to him.
“This is another special area,” said Müller, so a business will be offered again from March 1st - with rules.
7.45 p.m.:
Michael Müller (SPD), Governing Mayor of Berlin, is now speaking.
"We see that it is not impossible," says Müller, referring to the falling number of infections in the capital.
This could not have been achieved without the solidarity of the population in Germany.
That saved lives.
Maintaining the measures is essential.
"Especially after these difficult weeks, it is important to keep going," says Müller.
7.50 p.m.:
With reference to the Corona mutations, Merkel justifies the new incidence value of below 35, from which openings should be decided.
The first major step after schools and hairdressers is only possible from this new threshold.
"If the trend continues to decline, you can definitely achieve that, it is within reach," said Merkel.
The Federal Minister of Economics made the long-awaited announcement about the bridging aid three, which could now be requested.
They will meet again on March 3rd, until then the lockdown will initially be extended.
Angela Merkel after Corona summit: Chancellor refers to Corona mutation in Germany
7.44 p.m .:
"The time span between now and mid-March is so existential that we are further reducing our incidences," the Chancellor added, referring to the mutations.
Existing restrictions should continue to be "taken very seriously." With regard to schools and daycare centers, Merkel emphasized that she had her own ideas.
However, she knows that you live in a federal state and emphasizes its importance.
Schools and daycare centers are state responsibilities.
It is not possible that she will prevail as Federal Chancellor.
Update from February 10th, 7.40pm:
The press conference after the Corona summit begins.
The Chancellor first thanks the population.
Then she goes straight to the corona mutations.
“We know this mutation is a reality and with it it will increase.
The question is, how quickly will it increase? "
Update from February 10th, 7.30 p.m.:
From a seven-day incidence of less than 35, further loosening of the lockdown, for example in retail or for the catering trade, should be decided.
This should be discussed in March, said Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on Wednesday evening on the sidelines of the talks.
So far, the political goal for easing has been an incidence of less than 50.
Several decisions made at Corona summit - new incidence value is below 35
Update from February 10, 7.10 p.m.:
The Corona summit is now about vaccination, reports the broadcaster ntv.
Several decisions have already been made between the federal and state governments in the past few hours:
From March 1st, hairdressers are allowed to reopen.
From an incidence value below 35, shops should be allowed to open under certain conditions.
Earlier vaccination of teachers and educators: should be checked (advance to priority two).
The federal states themselves decide whether schools and daycare centers are to be opened.
Update from February 10, 6:39 p.m .:
Currently, the digital Corona summit has reached point seven, reports the
picture
.
The incidence value of no more than 35 per 100,000 within seven days has now been decided.
Chancellor Angela Merkel had previously fought for this.
To put it simply: The number 35 is the new 50 threshold.
Only from the threshold below 35 should further loosening of the lockdown, for example for the catering or retail sector, be decided under certain conditions (one customer per 20 square meters), according to the report.
This agreement is part of the discussion on general opening steps in March.
It had not previously been clear that opening steps would be defined at all at the Corona summit.
Corona summit with Angela Merkel: Teachers and educators should be checked for higher vaccination priority
Update from February 10th, 6:20 p.m.:
A higher priority of teachers and educators: inside vaccinations against the virus should be checked.
According to the
dpa,
the
federal and state governments have apparently
agreed on this at the Corona summit.
A corresponding test application should be submitted to the Ministry of Health.
Specifically, it is a matter of classifying the educational staff in the second instead of - as before - the third.
Der
Spiegel
claims to have found out that federal states should be able to decide whether to open schools and daycare centers themselves.
The Chancellor, however, wanted a joint approach.
Update from February 10th, 5:35 pm:
"This is a broad community that is now fighting for schools to open,"
Bild Live
quotes
an unnamed prime minister.
Another source reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel is annoyed by the opening debates.
Manu Dreyer is said to have made the accusation that the Chancellery was not interested in opening steps - and emphasized the frustration of many people about it.
Update from February 10, 5:13 p.m .:
"If we agree today on 35 incidence for business, I'll be there immediately," the Chancellor is
said to have said
according to
Bild Live
during the conference.
Angela Merkel in conversation with country bosses: First big decision made - hairdressers open from March 1st
Update from February 10, 4:50 p.m.:
Big decisions are being rolled over at the Corona summit during these hours.
The first has apparently already fallen - it concerns the rather small field of the hairdressing trade.
According to information from
Bild
, Chancellor Angela Merkel prevailed on this issue.
Apparently, professional haircutting should be allowed again from March 1st.
The federal states had pushed for an opening on February 22nd.
“It's not that I don't treat people to the hairdresser - I have my own problems there.
But it's about a week, ”the Chancellor is quoted as saying.
According to the report, Merkel had already urged caution at the beginning of the circuit.
She referred to the new corona mutations that could make the next three to four weeks particularly crucial.
Meanwhile, the main argument is allegedly about the general opening prospects.
The draft resolution from the Chancellery had left open whether it should be negotiated again on March 10, or whether a specific opening plan for nationwide incidence levels for numbers 35, 20 and 10 would be adopted.
According to
picture
information, Bavaria, Hamburg and Baden-Wuerttemberg are against these clear perspectives, out of concern to arouse unrealizable hopes.
The other 13 heads of government, however, insist on this plan.
So it could be a long session.
Corona summit live: Merkel's lockdown plan is wavering again - countries are demanding quick opening for hairdressers
Update from February 10, 4:05 p.m.:
Before the Corona summit, the heads of state consulted - and came to other demands than those considered by the Chancellery.
This is now also “officially” from a working paper from which the dpa cited, among others.
On the one hand, the federal states only want to extend the lockdown until March 7th (see update from 12:45 p.m.).
On the other hand, they are pushing for a quick opening for the hairdressing industry - possibly in February.
The proposed date is February 22nd.
However, the date is placed in square brackets in the document, which implies further discussion.
Unsurprisingly, however, the federal states are in agreement with school openings being their own responsibility.
In order to justify the prioritization of hairdressers, the paper says: "Against the background of the importance of hairdressers for personal hygiene and the fact that hairdressers have been closed for a long time, it appears necessary to enable the use, since significant parts of the population, especially the elderly, are dependent on them. "
Meanwhile, shortly after the beginning of the summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed a higher vaccination priority for teachers and stabbed her health minister Jens Spahn in the back.
There is also turbulence for another minister: Olaf Scholz was summoned by the Bundestag to debate a sensitive document on the Nordstream 2 pipeline.
Merkel's Corona Summit has begun - new front formation in the countries?
Update from February 10, 3:15 p.m.:
According to information from the dpa, the video circuit of the Corona summit has now started - with a little delay: At lunchtime there was apparently additional need for advice between the Prime Ministers.
Allegedly, the SPD and CDU-led countries advised separately in the meantime.
A first result of these discussions: Apparently there is no majority among the country leaders for an extension of the lockdown until March 14th - as Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) would like according to the draft resolution.
A majority of the Prime Ministers are in favor of an extension until March 7th, the editorial network Germany reported on Wednesday, citing information from negotiating circles in the federal states.
Corona lockdown: resistance to Merkel's plan - for election campaign considerations?
Update from February 10, 12.45 p.m.:
Is there already the next volte in the extension of the corona lockdown?
The heads of state are currently likely to discuss the draft resolution, the start of the actual summit is only scheduled for 2 p.m.
And, according to information from the
picture,
the conversation is
a little less long than the 14th of March planned by Angela Merkel.
The paper claims to have heard of a new lockdown period until March 7th - the reason sounds more political than epidemiological.
The reason for this are the state elections on March 14th in Baden-Württemberg * and Rhineland-Palatinate *.
There could be debates over the already leaked plan to open the hairdressing salons from March 1st.
Allegedly, some country bosses want to campaign for an even earlier start.
Corona lockdown in Germany: survey shows mood before Merkel's summit
Update from February 10, 11:35 a.m.:
Apparently, the corona lockdown in Germany is to be extended until mid-March according to the will of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) - a somewhat surprising turn, so far from March 1 there was talk.
At least for this shorter variant of the rule update, there is apparently great support in the population.
In a new poll, two-thirds of the participants were in favor of a lockdown extension until the end of February.
Only a quarter of the respondents in the YouGov survey rejected such a regulation.
There is therefore a difference in the acceptance of an extended lockdown between men and women: Men would be more likely to support a lockdown extension (69 percent) than women (64 percent).
Corona summit: new rules for Germany?
Merkel apparently wants to keep many rules - until mid-March
Update from February 10, 10.45 a.m.:
Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to allow the federal states to decide on school opening themselves - an offer that the Prime Minister will probably take up at the Corona summit from 2 p.m.
The continuation of the lockdown until March 14th could offer greater potential for controversy.
Because the proposal is astonishingly far-reaching: On Tuesday, Merkel had named March 1 as the target date for the first steps in the Union parliamentary group - just as several country leaders had done.
Specifically, according to the will of the Chancellery, this would mean that, among other things, the contact restrictions should be retained.
Accordingly, private meetings should only continue to be allowed with members of your own household and another person who does not live in the household.
Everything could remain the status quo for the world of work and the private contacts of people in Germany: According to the draft resolution, employers should be asked again to "implement generous home office solutions with greatly reduced staff on hand or to keep their offices completely closed".
The payment of bridging aid III to the companies affected by the lockdown should begin “this month”.
In the paper, the federal government also promises the federal states to ensure that the implementation of the vaccination campaign is more predictable.
Times at the Corona summit with Merkel: First key points are - when will there be a result?
Update from February 10, 10.15 a.m.:
Lockdown until mid-March, school openings as a state matter, a 35 incidence as a benchmark for possible further openings (see previous updates) - the Chancellery is entering into the federal-state negotiations with these key points the other corona measures in Germany.
But what time can an actual agreement be expected?
It will probably take a few more hours until then: a preparatory round of the Prime Ministers is scheduled for 11.00 a.m., and the decisive video connection with the Chancellor will begin at 2.00 p.m.
This is followed by a press conference with Angela Merkel, Berlin's Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) and Bavaria's regional chief Markus Söder (CSU).
A clue for the targeted duration of the summit could come from Baden-Württemberg: State father Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) wants to make a statement in front of the press at 6 p.m.
Corona in Germany: Merkel paper also names the possible incidence number for openings
Update from February 10th, 9.55 a.m.:
The Federal Chancellery apparently wants to extend the corona lockdown until March 14th (see previous update).
But is the much-discussed “step-by-step plan” also coming for further relaxation?
This leaves the draft resolution that has already leaked open.
She reportedly mentions two options.
According to information from the AFP news agency, the first option provides that the federal and state governments decide on further opening steps on March 10.
The second option is for the federal and state governments to agree that the next opening step should take place automatically when there is a “stable Germany-wide seven-day incidence of no more than 35 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants”.
This next opening step should then include "the opening of the retail trade with a limit of one customer per 20 square meters, the opening of museums and galleries and the opening of the still closed, body-related service providers".
Corona summit: have you already decided on the lockdown?
Merkel's draft leaked
Update from February 10, 9:34 a.m.:
The signs are intensifying: Large parts of life in Germany will remain in lockdown until March 14 - at least that's what Angela Merkel's (CDU) Chancellery wants.
The AFP news agency is now quoting from a corresponding updated draft resolution for the summit.
It now also seems confirmed that the hairdressers can have concrete hopes of opening from March 1st.
Merkel also apparently made a concession to federal states willing to open - according to the template, the states should be able to decide for themselves on how to proceed with schools and daycare centers.
Corona in Germany: lockdown decision already made?
Exception for hairdressers
Update from February 10th, 8.55 a.m.:
Lockdown extension into March?
As the
picture
wants to know, March 1st should be off the table for possible easing.
That date was targeted on Tuesday.
According to a current paper, easing is currently being discussed from March 7th or even 14th.
There may seem to be exceptions in the case of hairdressers.
After
image
-Information want
Merkel, Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Berlin's Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) and Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) will open an opening from March 1st.
To what extent there is consensus among the prime ministers on all of this is unclear.
Concrete resolutions from the Corona summit are not expected until the evening.
At the moment everything seems to be discussed back and forth.
So a lot can still change there.
Corona Germany: Kretschmann rejects “opening orgy”
Update from February 10th, 8:31 am:
"Nobody can expect that we will start an opening orgy right away." This statement by Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) to the
Badische Zeitung
makes it clear: It will be quick to relax the Corona rules not give the upcoming Corona summit.
Instead, it is foreseeable that the measures will generally be extended to the end of the month
(see initial notification).
If the nationwide incidences are below 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over a certain period of time, careful opening steps will be taken, explained Kretschmann.
At the moment the situation is still too fragile.
"The experience of other countries shows that opening too early leads to setbacks and thus to even tougher measures."
Corona lockdown in Germany: what will be opened in which steps?
Corona summit should provide the answer
Update from February 10, 6.49 a.m.:
From 2 p.m. onwards, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the prime ministers want to discuss the next steps in the corona policy this Wednesday.
An extension of the current measures is expected
(see initial notification)
.
But also important for many heads of state: How can you show people a longer-term open perspective?
Manuela Schwesig (SPD), Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, called for
“a ray of hope” for relaxation
at
Bild Live
.
“If we extend the shutdown to March 1st, we have to say at the same time: What will be opened and in which steps?” As an example, she cited that hairdressers have an incidence of around 50 and retail outlets possibly under 35.
She also made it clear: “I know that many expect it to be the same in all countries.
But it would be a mistake!
Why shouldn't a city or a district that are even under 35 offer more open daycare centers and schools than a district that is over 200. ”In her eyes, an important discussion is pending:“ We won't get everything at 50 can open.
But I don't believe in shutting down the whole country until every region is at 50. "
Corona Germany: Next Corona summit on Wednesday - Merkel urges caution
First report from February 9th:
Berlin - Under high pressure of expectation due to falling infection numbers in many places, the federal and state governments are wrestling for a possible first relaxation of the corona restrictions *.
Before the consultations between Chancellor Angela Merkel * and the Prime Minister on Wednesday, a further extension of the lockdown, which had initially been agreed until February 14, became apparent.
But there are now concrete plans among the federal states to gradually reopen daycare centers and schools as early as next week.
There are also calls from the Bundestag opposition and the economy for step-by-step plans * for early easing.
On the other hand, health experts warn of the dormant risks of new virus mutations *.
Merkel urged caution again and opposed easing before March 1st.
The time in which the British virus variant * has not yet gained the upper hand is decisive in order to get the infection numbers down with all possible strength, she said, according to information from the German Press Agency on Tuesday in an online meeting of the Union parliamentary group.
Their view is therefore to wait until March 1st with any opening step.
This is difficult for parents and other affected persons.
But you can then take opening steps “with a clearer conscience”.
The new virus variant *, which is also spreading in Germany, is considered to be significantly more contagious.
Corona summit on Wednesday: "Extend until March XXX"
In a draft of a working paper sent by the Chancellery to the federal states on Tuesday in preparation for the conference, it says: "Therefore, the contact restrictions * must in principle be maintained in the coming weeks".
The paper was considered an interim draft, many of which can still be changed.
According to reports, this is not a paper that has already been agreed between the federal and state governments.
Some points in the draft have not yet been formulated.
How long the lockdown should be extended, the working paper also leaves open: "The federal states will adjust their state regulations accordingly and extend them until March XXX."
Before the video conference with Merkel, several countries also spoke out in favor of further restrictions.
"We can't avoid extending the lockdown again," said Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil of
Wirtschaftswoche
.
Saarland's head of government Tobias Hans told the
Rheinische Post
: “At the moment the numbers for major easing are still too high.” Hamburg's First Mayor Peter Tschentscher also campaigned in the
editorial network in Germany
to “definitely” extend the lockdown *.
Corona conference: This is the current status
The number of infections:
Nationwide, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants fell in seven days, the so-called seven-day incidence *, for the first time in three months below the 75 mark - namely to 73, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Tuesday announced.
Just before Christmas, the high was 197.6.
However, there are still major differences between the federal states - from Thuringia with 135 to Baden-Württemberg with 60. The declared goal is a nationwide level of less than 50 so that local health authorities can track infection chains again.
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn recalled that the 50 threshold is actually a "critical mark" for necessary tougher countermeasures - a level of 49.8 is not without problems.
The prospects:
Several countries are urging to open up concrete prospects for relief.
You have to say what is possible with which numbers, said Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig - for example with seven-day values of 100, 50 or 35 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
“So that people also have a goal.
We can't just keep extending. ”Some countries presented their own step-by-step plans.
So Thuringia decided on a concept according to which hairdressers and beauticians with strict protective conditions could open seven-day values between 100 and 200.
The FDP * in the Bundestag also presented a seven-step plan for opening steps *.
Corona summit: daycare centers and schools in focus - Lauterbach: "The pandemic will by no means end in 2021 either"
Daycare centers and schools:
The Conference of Ministers of Education
and
Cultural Affairs (KMK) of the federal states decided unanimously that from February 15, after the graduation classes, lower age groups should also go back to school - "if the good development of the incidence values continues", as the KMK chairwoman Britta Ernst from Brandenburg said.
The first decisions have already been made: Saxony, which in December was the first state to order nationwide school and day-care center closings, announced on Tuesday that it would be the first to open elementary schools and day-care centers with restricted operations from next Monday.
Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann said: "Priority is given to day-care centers and elementary schools." There is consensus on this between the Chancellor and the federal states.
Video: Talking about two-week lockdown extension
The risks:
The SPD * health expert Karl Lauterbach warned in an interview with Merkur.de that it would be easing soon.
A third wave threatens.
"The pandemic is by no means over in 2021 either." It would now depend on quick vaccinations.
The Green * expert Janosch Dahmen told the
dpa
: "We should not repeat the mistakes of other countries that have relapsed after loosening them too quickly." Symbolic political openings like in hairdressing salons would be "a gift for the virus".
It is possible to set a schedule for easing with a uniform risk level scheme.
“But not the departure times yet.”
(Dpa / fmü)
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Markus Schreiber / dpa