3G instead of 2G: Minister shocks retail with new corona rule

Created: 12/18/2021, 4:16 PM

From: Johannes Nuß

2G in retail has been history since the judgment of the Lüneburg Higher Administrative Court in Lower Saxony.

But the federal and state governments want to adhere to restrictions for unvaccinated people.

Hanover - Lockdown for Unvaccinated People?

Not in Lower Saxony.

With its ruling last Thursday, the Lüneburg Higher Administrative Court (OVG) of the state government in Hanover spat properly into the corona soup.

Since Thursday, unvaccinated people in Lower Saxony have been able to visit other retail stores in addition to everyday shops.

The federal government and the state government wanted to prevent that.

But in Hanover they want to continue to adhere to the corona measure and introduce new rules in the first half of the coming week, as a government spokeswoman said.

Today, Saturday, December 18, 2021, politicians want to discuss the details in the coalition committee. 

Corona in Lower Saxony: New rules should be available by the middle of next week

In the course of this, Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) warned against the lifting of the 2G rule and expects that more people without a Covid-19 vaccination could now come to his state as shopping tourists.

As Weil told the German Press Agency, Lower Saxony now has a special role in Germany with the decision.

“All other countries have 2G in retail.

I do not hope that this leads to a special kind of shopping tourism, because unvaccinated people can go shopping in Lower Saxony. "

Weil emphasized that it was not about a scolding of judgment.

However, the head of government could not resist a reference to Schleswig-Holstein, where the 2G rule was recently confirmed by a court.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD, left) said during a visit to Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) in Hanover that it would make no epidemiological or health policy sense to overturn the 2G rule now.

This is particularly true because of the impending wave with the new virus variant Omikron.

© Moritz Frankenberg / dpa

The Prime Minister kept a low profile on the details of the new Corona requirements for businesses.

"I can rule out that things will continue as before, only without 2G," he said.

An FFP2 mask requirement or a 3G rule would be conceivable, according to which people who have not been vaccinated would have to present a negative test before entering.

This was also explained by the OVG in its reasoning for the judgment.

Omikron in Lower Saxony: Due to the new variant, stricter corona measures are necessary

According to Weil, tightened corona measures are necessary, especially against the background of the new Omikron virus variant.

“I am really deeply concerned about the spread of Omicron.

We are facing what is probably the greatest challenge of the pandemic. "

The OVG Lüneburg, on the other hand, temporarily lifted the 2G rule in Lower Saxony's retail trade on Thursday because the restriction to vaccinated and convalescents was not necessary in the current infection situation.

However, shopkeepers can use their domiciliary rights and continue to limit admission.

The 2G rule in retail was based on a joint decision by the federal and state governments.

The federal government wants to adhere to this even after the OVG ruling.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin that the access rule is still considered sensible.

The Federal Government is also convinced that the Infection Protection Act is clear on this matter and forms a good framework.

Corona in Lower Saxony: The federal and state governments want to adhere to the 2G rule in retail

During a visit to Hanover, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also stated that it would make no epidemiological or health policy sense to overturn such rules now.

This is particularly true because of the impending wave with the new virus variant Omikron.

With a view to a possible renewed federal-state meeting before Christmas, Hebestreit said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) did not consider another Prime Minister's conference to be mandatory for the time being.

If the countries wanted such advice, it would have to be discussed.

The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony announced in the meantime in the NDR that a hearing would be requested in front of the OVG in Lüneburg via the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Weil focuses on support from science in Lower Saxony, which could better convey the risk of the new Omikron variant to the judges.

Lower Saxony is currently the only state in which the 2G rule does not apply in retail.

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