Omikron is spreading in Bavaria - will the regional hotspot lockdown come into force again soon?

Created: 01/12/2022Updated: 01/12/2022, 05:39 AM

From: Tanja Kipke

Will numerous facilities in Bavaria soon have to close again due to increasing incidences?

(Symbol picture) © Kira Hofmann / dpa-Zentralbild / ZB

The Corona numbers in the Free State are increasing rapidly thanks to Omikron.

The incidence is over 500 in three regions. Will there be regional lockdowns for Bavaria again soon?

• Omikron is spreading in Bavaria - the incidences are increasing enormously.

• Bavaria's economy is calling for the 1000 lockdown limit to be relaxed.

• An overview of the new Corona * regulations in Bavaria can be found here *.

• This news ticker is updated regularly.

Munich - Prime Minister Markus Söder * (CSU) and his cabinet decided on new corona regulations for the Free State on Tuesday (January 11). With regard to the 2Gplus rule in gastronomy, Bavaria is taking a different approach. Meanwhile, the highly contagious Omikron variant is becoming more and more popular in the Free State. “Omikron is growing. We are currently experiencing a trend reversal that is not for the better, ”said State Chancellor Florian Herrmann (CSU) on Tuesday in Munich.

By the end of 2021, a falling incidence * was noticeable in Bavaria, and now there is a strongly increasing trend, he emphasized.

As of this Tuesday, it is 339.5 across the country - in three districts of Bavaria it is already over 500. "Omikron is prevailing as a variant," says Herrmann.

Nationwide, around 43 percent of the detected infections are suspected or confirmed Omikron cases. 

Corona in Bavaria: hotspot lockdown regulation in force again soon?

The city of Würzburg and Munich *, as well as the district of Starnberg, currently have an incidence of over 500.

A week ago the incidence in the state capital was still 216.9.

If the numbers double again in the next week, Munich will soon exceed the lockdown limit.

At an incidence of 1000, a region is considered a hotspot and has to go into regional lockdown. Then stricter corona measures apply, gastronomy as well as sports and cultural institutions would have to close, for example. "In just a few days, some regions of Bavaria are likely to slip above the 1000 incidence," said Klaus Josef Lutz, President of the Bavarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BIHK) on Tuesday in Munich. He therefore calls for higher incidence limits.

The economy hopes that the state government will make appropriate changes and adjustments to the hotspot regulation at the latest at the next cabinet meeting, said Lutz.

“If politicians fail to act, restaurateurs, hoteliers and operators of cultural, leisure and sports facilities including cable cars are threatened with closure across the country.

That would be fatal and would put numerous entrepreneurs in need of existence. "

(By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all the important stories from the Free State. Register here.)

Video: Corona update for Bavaria - new quarantine and gastro rules

The following tightening threatens counties if the incidence is over 1000

If a district in Bavaria exceeds the incidence limit of 1000, the so-called "regional hotspot lockdown" applies according to the 15th Bavarian Infection Protection Ordinance. The following facilities must then close:

•  Sports halls, sports fields, fitness studios, dance schools and other sports facilities.

• Catering establishments of all kinds.

• Hotels, tourist accommodation, school hostels, youth hostels, campsites and all other commercial or paid accommodation.

• Libraries and Archives.

• Museums, exhibitions, memorials, objects of the Bavarian administration of the state palaces, gardens and lakes and comparable cultural sites.

  
  
  

  Theaters, operas, concert halls, cinemas, stages and similar facilities as well as zoological and botanical gardens.

• Amusement parks and comparable fixed leisure facilities.

• Companies that offer services for which physical proximity to the customer is essential.

In addition, apart from exams, there would be no face-to-face events at universities.

In the retail sector, it must also be ensured that only one customer is allowed to enter the shop in an area of ​​20 square meters.

If the incidences continue to rise so rapidly, there will actually be several regions above the 1000 lockdown limit in around a week.

It remains to be seen whether the state government will announce a rule change beforehand.