Today (January 24) the Prime Ministers are again discussing how to proceed in the corona pandemic.
Relaxation is not planned - to the chagrin of retailers.
Berlin - The next conference of prime ministers is just around the corner.
Today the federal and state governments are again advising on the Corona* situation.
The focus is on dealing with Omikron.
The corona variant is highly contagious, but is considered less dangerous because the disease usually progresses more easily.
Although the number of infections is increasing rapidly again, the calls for easing are getting louder.
Countries like the UK are already in the process of lifting most of the measures.
But what is the government planning?
Corona summit: No easing planned
According to information from the AFP news agency, there is agreement “that the previously applicable rules for social contacts and events will continue to apply,” according to information from the AFP news agency in the proposed resolution for a video switching conference of the heads of government on Monday (January 24).
However, they held out the prospect of "opening prospects" - as soon as "an overload of the health system can be ruled out".
However, the template did not provide any further details.
Criticism of the 2G rule in retail is getting louder and louder.
Only recently did the Bavarian Administrative Court provisionally suspend enforcement of the rule.
This means that people who have not been vaccinated are now allowed to shop in all shops again.
In Saarland and Lower Saxony, everyone can go shopping again without restrictions.
2G rule: retail demands abolition
The general manager of the German Retail Association (HDE), Stefan Genth, said: “Bavaria and Lower Saxony are setting the course for the other federal states. 2G in retail makes no sense and must be abolished again quickly.” Since the beginning of the pandemic, the food trade has shown that shopping with a mask, distance and a hygiene concept is safe. "Political decision-makers in all federal states and at federal level must correct themselves and quickly override 2G when shopping."
In a letter to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, HDE President Josef Sanktjohanser also calls for the abolition of the 2G rule in retail. "We ask you, in the course of the federal-state votes at the Prime Ministers' Conference next Monday, to work to lift the strict 2G access restrictions for the retail trade with goods other than everyday needs - but at least to simplify them in the form of random checks at the checkout." , it says in the letter that is available to the German Press Agency.
He also reiterated that the 2G rule in retail does not have a major impact on infection numbers.
On the other hand, however, retailers are suffering greatly from the restrictions.
There is talk of a drop in sales of up to 30 percent and increased personnel expenses.
"It's about the survival of thousands of businesses," Sanktjohanser appealed to the government.
Corona Summit: These changes are planned
But what changes are the federal and state governments actually planning?
As expected, PCR tests* are to be prioritized for certain groups from now on.
"The currently high number of new infections, which is expected to continue to rise, is leading to bottlenecks in the available PCR tests," says the proposed resolution.
“The laboratories are already partly overloaded.
When bottlenecks occur, it is therefore essential to prioritize.”
Scholz and the heads of government of the federal states also want to step up the vaccination campaign again.
Against this background, according to the draft resolution, they want to "reaffirm" the need to introduce general vaccination requirements.
In a previous version of the document, however, this had not yet been mentioned.
(ph/AFP/dpa) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.