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Bavarian parliament fights against omicron - will the lights go out in the state parliament soon?

2022-01-14T22:17:00.559Z


Bavarian parliament fights against omicron - will the lights go out in the state parliament soon? Created: 01/14/2022, 23:06 By: Thomas Eldersch Will the lights go out in the Bavarian state parliament soon? Omikron pushes operations to their limits. © Peter Kneffel/dpa Corona blows the attack again with the Omikron variant. The Bavarian Parliament is not immune to this either. But how to prote


Bavarian parliament fights against omicron - will the lights go out in the state parliament soon?

Created: 01/14/2022, 23:06

By: Thomas Eldersch

Will the lights go out in the Bavarian state parliament soon?

Omikron pushes operations to their limits.

© Peter Kneffel/dpa

Corona blows the attack again with the Omikron variant.

The Bavarian Parliament is not immune to this either.

But how to protect MEPs from infection?

Munich - Omikron has also arrived in Munich.

The incidence in the Bavarian capital has been rising again for days.

The value is currently 718.2 (RKI, as of January 14).

This not only affects the citizens on the street, but also the politicians in the Maximilianeum.

In the Bavarian state parliament, there are fears that operations may no longer be possible due to the new corona variant.

Omicron in the Bavarian state parliament: Countermeasures are to be taken with PCR tests and a reduction in the number of MPs

With corona tests * you want to try to counteract the impending danger from Omikron.

State President Ilse Aigner (CSU) told dpa on Thursday: “We hope that the tests will enable us to operate parliament safely.

It will be difficult.” But there is still no test concept and schedule against the new variant.

A reduction in the number of MPs and PCR tests 24 hours before the meetings would be conceivable.

A failure of meetings or even a longer forced break should be prevented at all costs.

Masks are compulsory in the Bavarian state parliament and the members of parliament are separated from each other by Plexiglas panes.

© Sven Hoppe/dpa/Archive

Regular PCR testing also seems to be the only effective means. Again and again, rapid antigen tests do not work reliably with the omicron variant. Recent example - the faction of the Free Voters*. Actually, they wanted to meet on Wednesday for a closed conference. However, PCR tests confirmed that five MPs and four employees were infected with Corona*. “If we had only done quick tests, as is usually the case in the state parliament or with other parliamentary groups, everyone would be negative,” says parliamentary group manager Fabian Mehring. Although most free-voter MPs are now boosted or double-vaccinated, the infections are a problem. They have to be quarantined as contact persons. This also applies to the ministers Hubert Aiwanger (economy), Michael Piazolo (cult) and Thorsten Glauber (environment).

Online operation in the Bavarian Parliament is not possible

In the coming week (January 20), the Council of Elders will discuss how things should continue in the state parliament. President Aigner knows that one cannot fall back on the model in many committees of simply moving the meetings to the Internet. "Due to the rules of procedure, a purely online parliamentary operation is not possible." Even during the pandemic, the state parliament had been able to carry out its work largely without problems under high security precautions. So far, this has included protective walls between MPs in addition to a mask requirement. In phases with high incidences, the state parliament also regularly reduced the number of parliamentarians present. However, according to the rules of procedure, it must not be less than half, otherwise the House will not have a quorum.

(phone with dpa)

*Merkur.de/bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-01-14

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