It will be a tough struggle: Prime Minister and Chancellor want to decide on the new Corona timetable on Wednesday.
A proposal is on the table - heated debates seem inevitable.
Munich - there are compliments this time too.
In the very first sentence, the draft for the federal-state summit on Wednesday praises “the broad solidarity” in the state.
However, he immediately added a decisive restriction: "In the unfortunately necessary lockdown *".
However, the paper leaves no doubt as to the seriousness of the situation.
It was created in a group of the Chancellery, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the states of Berlin and Bavaria - but it mainly bears the signature of Angela Merkel *.
Lockdown resolutions will be extended until March 28th
Because the impatience in the population, but also in the state governments, has recently grown strongly, efforts are being made to take regionally different situations into account and to grant relief where the risk is low.
The paper is from Monday evening.
Even if there will still be a number of changes, a tendency is discernible.
What is certain is that the previous lockdown resolutions will in principle be extended until March 28th.
The increasing amount of vaccine and the availability of rapid and self-tests make things easier.
Some will take effect next week.
From Monday, the possibility of private meetings will be extended.
Encounters between two households with a maximum of five people can then take place again.
In regions with a seven-day incidence below 35 or 50 (the exact number is open), the upper limit rises to two additional households and ten people plus children.
Over Easter, family get-togethers - like at Christmas - should also be allowed in larger groups.
Uniform rules for retail?
Bookstores are unlocking again
After the opening of hairdressing salons and regional easing of, for example, garden centers, there should also be a uniform regulation for the retail sector in a second step.
Bookstores are now nationwide as retail stores for daily needs.
They should all be allowed to unlock again from Monday.
The paper makes a third step dependent on the development of the infection process.
If the incidence is stable below 35, the respective federal state can reopen the retail trade either nationally or regionally.
One customer is allowed per 20 square meters of sales area.
The opening of museums, galleries, zoos and botanical gardens should then be possible, as well as outdoor sports in groups of up to ten people.
What role do daily self-tests play?
If the infection process then remains stable for 14 days, level four would be reached.
Then the states could decide on openings in outdoor catering as well as in the cultural sector (theaters, concert halls, cinemas) and in indoor sports.
No perspectives whatsoever are shown for indoor catering and hotels - this should only be decided at the next meeting.
An - interesting - secondary role is played by daily self-tests, with which earlier openings in culture or sports activities could become possible.
Merkel has her eyes on the months of April, May and June - after that, she hopes the vaccinations will take effect.
Saxony-Anhalt wants step-by-step easing, Bavaria remains cautious
An increased need for discussion has already been announced from the federal states.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU *) advocates gradual easing, even above an incidence value of 50. Markus Söder * wants to remain significantly more cautious.
NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet would like to focus more on the tests.
The deliberations start at 2 p.m. - it could be late.
Incidentally, the paper expressly mentions an “emergency brake”.
If the incidence * rises above a value to be determined on three consecutive days, the old rules come into force again.
Then broad solidarity will be necessary a little longer.
* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
