The Bavarian corona traffic light jumped to red level within a few days - what that means exactly is unclear in many places.
District
- After the timid euphoria in the summer, many restaurateurs in the district are now afraid that their business will fall victim to the pandemic again in the coming weeks - this time without government subsidies.
Because: No lockdown, no corona aid.
"Now that business is finally up and running again, there is another shock," says Traudl Schmidramsl, landlady of the Ismaninger Neuwirt.
The new yardstick for the infection process is the corona traffic light.
And it has been red since today because more than 600 Covid-19 patients are in Bavarian intensive care units.
Who pays 3G-plus?
For restaurateurs this means: the 3G plus rule.
Means: Guests have to be vaccinated, recovered or tested with a PCR test.
So actually nothing changes compared to the yellow traffic light - but many people are apparently not quite clear which rules apply to employees in the hospitality industry, for example.
The Bavarian Hotel and Gastronomy Association (Dehoga) warned on Monday that two PCR tests per week cost around 800 euros per month - for employees that is a “utopian price”.
According to the Infection Protection Act, employers have a so-called test offer obligation anyway.
At the request of Münchner Merkur, the District Office and the Bavarian Ministry of Health announced: The employer must make any two test offers per week.
According to Dehoga, however, employers are not explicitly obliged to pay for two PCR tests, which are significantly more expensive.
Employers are not allowed to ask if employees are vaccinated
In addition, for labor law reasons, restaurateurs are not even allowed to ask their employees whether they have been vaccinated.
“We are not allowed to ask, then we cannot provide any tests,” confirms Kristine Mergel, assistant to the management of the forest management in Pullach.
So how should those responsible know which employee is vaccinated and who they then have to pay for a PCR test?
"If the regulations remain in place, this would not be a lockdown, but the personnel shutdown of an entire industry," alarmed Angela Inselkammer, President of Dehoga and managing director of the Aying brewery restaurant.
In any case, many restaurateurs continue to assume that a quick test is enough for their employees.
The question of the mask requirement is also interpreted differently: While the Bavarian Ministry of Health points out that with the 3G-plus rule, the mask requirement for guests and employees is no longer required, waiters in various restaurants have had to wear FFP2 masks again since Saturday.
If the traffic light is yellow and red, the "Increase to FFP2 mask" is indicated as a change.
It is also not clear to many who this concerns exactly.
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Traudl Schmidramsl, landlady of the Ismaninger Neuwirt.
© Dieter Michalek
The fear of the guests
“The fear of the guests changes with the different traffic lights,” says Traudl Schmidramsl.
In addition to the organizational and legal problems, there is the growing uncertainty among visitors.
Because even if the incidence is infectious only to a limited extent, people still react to it.
And currently it is 252.5 in the Munich district.
"So far we have only had one rejection in forestry because of the increasing incidence, not because of 3G-plus," says Mergel.
The mood was mixed after the first Sunday with the 3G plus rule.
"Yesterday we had a single guest with a PCR test - the others sat on the heated outdoor terrace", where the 3G plus rule does not apply.
Christmas sales
Whether the 3G rule applies or not wouldn't make much difference anyway. “The PCR tests are too expensive for the guests to go out to eat,” says Traudl Schmidramsl. She assumes that stricter regulations are the only way back to normal. “2G is probably the best solution.” Kristine Mergel sees it differently. Because with 3G-plus or the 2G rule for gastronomy, many people who have already been vaccinated and who want to travel with unvaccinated friends or relatives would not come. "Solidarity goes in both directions."
Both restaurateurs hope that things will not get worse and that the recurring fear of the virus will not destroy their entire Christmas business, for example because the celebrations that have already been planned will be canceled again.
Traudl Schmidramsl remains optimistic for the time being: "If we are allowed to, we will pull it off."
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