Status: 04.05.2021 3:53 p.m.
The announcement of cautious easing steps has triggered divided reactions from Lower Saxony’s restaurateurs and hoteliers. The state government has announced more freedoms for the economy.
The prerequisite for this is a reliable seven-day incidence of less than 100 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) said on Tuesday that the country had gotten through the third corona wave well. That is why it should now be opened gradually. You want to use leeway, but carefully and securely. Those who test negative for the corona virus on a daily basis should be able to shop in retail without an appointment from Monday. The same applies to those who are fully vaccinated. Hotels, holiday apartments, campsites and outdoor catering can also open from Monday.
Applicable regulations too cumbersome?
Martin Zackariat is chairman of the hotel and restaurant association Dehoga in Lüneburg and runs a hotel and restaurant in Heiligental himself. After months he sees a perspective again. However, he would have liked to be able to offer more than the initially approved 60 percent of the beds. Therefore, Zackariat hopes that it will be relaxed further in the coming weeks. Ulrich von dem Bruch, managing director of Lüneburger Heide Marketing, does not agree at all. He criticizes that initially no tourists from other federal states are allowed to stay in Lower Saxony. Overall, he thinks the rules that will apply from Monday are too cumbersome. But there are also worries: In Bad Bevensen, one of the largest health resorts in the north-east, it is feared that the seven-day incidence in the district could rise again above the 100 mark due to tourists and that the “federal emergency brake” would then again take effect.
Doubts about the coast
On the coast, too, there are certain doubts about the planned steps. Both Spiekeroog’s mayor Matthias Piszczan (CDU) and Dangast’s spa director Johann Taddigs say that there are no adequate test options in the holiday resorts. The strict rules from Hanover completely ignored practice, according to Taddigs. At Spiekeroog, for example, a maximum of 300 people are tested once a week. Things look better on Borkum: the island manages 3,000 tests a day. That should be enough for the beginning, it says there. At Dehoga, there are definitely concerns as to whether tourism is really worthwhile under these conditions, says Vice President Birgit Kolb-Binder. It is now a matter of waiting for the country’s regulation.
Videos
