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Bundestag debate on corona measures

2021-11-18T09:21:44.094Z


The traffic light parties are reacting to the dramatic corona situation with a revised infection protection law - and defending the draft law in the Bundestag. The Union considers the package to be inadequate.


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Bundestag debate on corona measures

Photo: ANNEGRET HILSE / Reuters

The traffic light parties have defended their plans for a new law to contain the corona pandemic in the Bundestag.

"We are reacting to the very difficult corona situation with necessary and legally secure measures," said SPD health expert Sabine Dittmar.

The federal states would have more options for action than with the current legal situation.

This also included options for health authorities to order individual closings in the event of specific outbreaks.

The plans of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP are intended to create a different legal basis for conditions if the “epidemic situation of national scope” previously determined by the Bundestag expires on November 25th.

  • Access rules are only planned for vaccinated, convalescent and tested people (3G) in the workplace and on public transport.

  • For nursing homes and clinics, test obligations for employees and visitors are to be anchored.

  • The federal states should be able to take further tough measures, such as restrictions and bans on events, following a resolution by the state parliament.

    The Federal Council still has to approve the plans.

    Resistance from the federal states in which the Union parties are in government is becoming apparent in the regional chamber.

Dittmar called on Thursday's upcoming federal-state round on Corona not only to submit resolutions, but also to implement and monitor them. The Union's request to prolong the epidemic situation again is threadbare. Measures that the CDU and CSU have now lamented would have long since been able to order EU-governed countries with high corona numbers, said the SPD politician with a view to Bavaria and Saxony. In the early afternoon, the Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to discuss the next steps in the fight against Corona with the Prime Ministers.

Union parliamentary group vice Stephan Stracke criticized that the plans of the SPD, Greens and FDP would not do justice to the drama of the situation.

The fourth wave hit Germany with full force, the country is facing a difficult winter.

In large parts, hospitals have already reached their limits.

In this situation it would be a mistake to let the "epidemic situation of national scope" come to an end.

The traffic light coalition is making its first mistake.

The catalog of measures would be shortened with the plans.

"That can't go well," said Stracke.

Close coordination between the federal and state governments is necessary, the deliberations on Thursday would come much too late, this prevented the traffic lights.

"The legal situation that you are suing here exists"

Green parliamentary group leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt responded to the Union: "The legal situation that you are suing here exists." However, tougher measures to combat pandemics have not been implemented by many countries.

"If you want to celebrate Carnival on the one hand and say 'That was really great' and the day after tomorrow say 'We have a huge emergency', then that is not credible for me from North Rhine-Westphalia," said Göring-Eckardt.

The measures now planned went much further than the previous ones.

NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) has repeatedly criticized the plans of the traffic light groups as not going far enough.

"Corona is not over," said the first parliamentary manager of the FDP parliamentary group, Marco Buschmann.

The new package of measures does not leave the countries defenseless.

Due to the revision, contact restrictions in public and private areas are now also possible.

That is a "sharp sword" against the pandemic.

mfh / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-11-18

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