Corona summit: Federal and state governments are discussing tightening - these new rules are expected

Created: 01/07/2022Updated: 01/07/2022, 7:14 am

From: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

At the corona summit between the federal and state governments, further rules are to be decided.

In particular, advice should be given about shortening quarantine times.

The news ticker.

• Corona summit

  : On Friday, the federal government will be discussing possible tightening of the corona * rules with the state chiefs in another Prime Minister's conference *

  (see initial report)

  .

• A reduction in quarantine and isolation times and the introduction of mandatory vaccinations are also part of the agenda at the MPK.

• This

  news ticker for the Bund-Länder-Round

  is continuously updated.

Update from January 7th, 6.42 am

: "The gastronomy is a problem area, because you often sit for hours without a mask": With these words, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) defended the planned access restrictions in the gastronomy at RTL.

A draft of the draft resolution for today's MPK states that 2G-Plus or proof of a booster vaccination should apply here in the future

.

Lauterbach advertised it on RTL: "We have to limit the contacts again".

In particular, there are plans to create “even more security” in the interior of the restaurant.

He got backing from Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), criticism came from the restaurant lobby.

"Nationwide 2G-Plus would be a disaster for pubs and restaurants," said Dehoga boss Ingrid Hartges of the

newspaper on Friday.

Hosts should not be the ones to suffer if the government wanted to create “apparently incentives for the third vaccination”, according to Hartges.

Instead, the federal and state governments must immediately expand vaccination and test capacities "so that this grueling situation can be ended as quickly as possible," Hartges demanded.

Health Minister Lauterbach defends the 2G-Plus rule for restaurants.

© Michael Kappeler / dpa

Corona summit: Federal and state governments are discussing tightening - these new rules are expected

Update from January 6, 10:15 p.m.:

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) has spoken out in favor of more nationwide corona protective measures.

This includes the so-called 2G-Plus rule for access to many areas and the closure of discos, Schwesig said this Thursday in Schwerin after a special meeting of the state cabinet.

It does not make sense if the rules are looser in one state than in another.

At the federal-state summit on Friday, it should also be regulated how the quarantine in the event of a corona infection can be limited to what is necessary for those who work in critical areas.

These include, for example, the fire brigade, the respective municipal utilities or the garbage disposal.

As a further point, the SPD politician called for rehabilitation measures to be postponed so that rehabilitation clinics can be occupied with corona patients if necessary.

Coronavirus summit: Prime Minister's Conference (MPK) advises on new corona rules

Update from January 6, 10:05 p.m.:

Before the Corona summit this Friday, the planned rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated people in Germany will be public. A resolution proposed by the federal government * provides, among other things, that schools and restaurants should remain open despite the Omikron variant. According to media reports, there should also be easing in the severely affected Saxony - despite the high number of infections.

First report from January 6th:

Munich / Berlin - the federal and state governments are working flat out on new corona rules amid the tense situation surrounding the Omikron * mutation. Tomorrow

the heads of the federal and state governments want to make decisions in another conference of prime ministers. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) emphasized that there will be new resolutions “in any case”. A large number of measures are under discussion.

• Shortening of quarantine and isolation times:

  Anyone infected with Corona has to go into isolation - usually 14 days. Contact persons suspected of corona must also stay at home for a certain period of time, then this is called quarantine. Because personnel bottlenecks in important facilities such as the police and fire brigade are feared due to the highly contagious Omikron variant, the quarantine and isolation times could now be shortened in order to reduce the total number of failures.

• However, care must be taken to ensure that there are no new risks of infection - for example, nurses who have not fully recovered in hospitals could infect patients.

  Reductions in areas where employees hardly have any contact - for example in waterworks - are considered to be less of a problem.

  Another criterion for reductions could be the question of whether someone is boosted, vaccinated or not vaccinated.

• Contact restrictions:

  The number of people who are allowed to meet at private gatherings could also be reduced again.

  So far, the upper limit of ten people has been valid for vaccinated people, for unvaccinated people meetings are limited to their own household and a maximum of two people from another household.

  Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is now promoting even stricter rules.

• Vaccination status:

  Boosting could also become the decisive yardstick for future vaccination status: Until now, anyone who has received two doses is considered fully vaccinated - with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine it is only one. According to

  Spiegel

  information, the Federal Government's Expert Council advocates requiring three doses in future for vaccinated status. Then, however, it would have to be clarified how to deal with those who have not yet been boosted - for example because the second vaccination was less than three months ago or they have not yet had a booster appointment.

• Access restrictions:

  If the vaccinated status depends on the boosting, this would probably also have an impact on future access restrictions.

  For example, the Berlin Senator for Health Ulrike Gote (Greens) suggested that only those who have been boosted should be allowed in restaurants.

  The refresher could also become an admission ticket for other areas.

• Mask requirement: Especially in local public transport, people are free in many places whether they wear the simple surgical masks or the FFP2 masks *, which are considered to be safer.

  Berlin's Senator for Health Gote proposes an FFP mask requirement in local public transport and retail.

• Vaccination campaign:

  After the vaccination record in mid-December with almost 1.5 million doses in one day, the numbers on the holidays have, as expected, decreased significantly - and have not yet reached the previous values: On Tuesday 611,000 doses were administered.

  Because the majority of these are booster vaccinations, the vaccination rate only increases at a snail's pace.

• Vaccination compulsory:

  According to the plans of the Ampel-Koalition *, the Bundestag should soon discuss various group proposals without being compulsory for a parliamentary group: They range from the general compulsory vaccination * for everyone over the age of 18 through a tiered model, especially for vulnerable groups, to the rejection of a compulsory vaccination.

• The federal government wants to stay out of it, but this is met with opposition: the chairman of the conference of prime ministers, the North Rhine-Westphalian head of government Hendrik Wüst (CDU), would like to find out from the federal government on Friday how it intends to proceed with the compulsory vaccination.

Compulsory vaccination: Project will probably be delayed further - Bundestag debate postponed by weeks

In the Prime Minister's Conference, the compulsory vaccination should also be a subject of discussion, but now another delay of the project is looming. Important dates will be postponed. This includes expert hearings and further committee meetings, but also Bundestag debates. Contrary to what was initially planned, the Bundestag will not discuss the various proposals for mandatory vaccination in the coming week, as the AFP news agency reported on Thursday, citing parliamentary circles. Instead, an "orientation debate" to exchange arguments is to take place in the week of January 24th - without any concrete bills being debated.

According to parliamentary sources, the first reading of the draft laws on mandatory vaccination will then take place in the following week of the session. According to the current planning status, this is scheduled for the week of February 14th. According to information from parliamentary groups, the postponement has become necessary because the preparation of the various bills is taking longer than planned. In addition, the highly controversial issue should be debated extensively and unhurriedly in parliament in order to achieve a broad consensus. An overly rapid implementation of the mandatory vaccination is not to be expected. According to the current status, an introduction before the end of March is considered unrealistic.

In addition, there is apparently disagreement within the federal government about the mandatory vaccination.

Especially in the FDP, a camp is currently forming against the planned regulation, as reported by

, citing party sources.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's promise could already fail because of his own coalition.

Compulsory vaccination: Söder calls for clarity and a concrete proposal - CDU health expert attacks Scholz

Similar to CDU politician Wüst, CSU boss Markus Söder also called for clarity from the federal government on mandatory vaccinations. "I admit, I'm also a little insecure," said Söder. "The government must make a proposal - when, for whom, which groups and how such a vaccination requirement should be implemented," emphasized the CSU boss. It is wrong to say that this should be done via group applications from individual members of parliament. "We expect a proposal from the traffic light," added Söder, adding that compulsory vaccination could be "an important contribution" - both medically and socially, but only if there was a clear suggestion.

The CDU health expert Tino Sorge was also critical of the current situation.

He set his sights on the Federal Chancellor: "Scholz is in silence," the CDU politician told 

, "and that with a question that worries the whole country." Now it will be interesting to see what the Corona summit on Friday will be brings this to news.