Status: 05.01.2021 10:12 p.m.
The current contact restrictions will be tightened nationwide until the end of January, the daycare centers and primary schools in MV will remain open, said Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) after the federal-state meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
The consultations were very difficult, said Schwesig, on the one hand because the number of infections is still high. On the other hand, experts would have pointed out the dangers of mutations, as we already know from Great Britain. Therefore, advice was given on how the lockdown could be extended and what additional measures could be taken. Even if the situation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is not as difficult as in other federal states, an incidence value of more than 96 cases per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days must be taken very seriously.
State government supports nationwide measures
According to Schwesig, the number of infections cannot yet be fully estimated due to the holidays. Therefore, the state government supported that the lockdown be extended and the contact restrictions tightened. “I know that these are very tough measures, especially for people whose shops are closed, who cannot go to work, but above all for our children, and yet these measures are necessary,” said Schwesig. Many people are sick or seriously ill and the capacities at the hospitals are increasingly strained. It is imperative to prevent one’s own countrymen from having to be flown out because of overburdened hospitals, as was the case in Saxony. It is important that everyone really adheres to the rules and measures.
The following 10 points apply in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania:
1. The previous restrictions will be extended until January 31st.
2. The contact restrictions are tightened. Your own household may only meet with one other (changing) person.
3. The company canteens are closed. Food and drinks can, however, be taken away.
4. Employers are asked to continue to create generous home office opportunities.
5. Exit restrictions apply to an incidence of over 200 infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days. In affected districts, you are only allowed to move within a radius of 15 kilometers from your own home. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there have not yet been such high incidence values.
6. Protection standards continue to apply to retirement and nursing homes. There is a constant test obligation for staff and residents.
7. The Robert Koch Institute should particularly check the properties of the coronavirus with the reports on new mutations. The federal police are requested to check the entry restrictions in particular. Everything must be done to ensure that the mutation is not registered in Germany.
8. The production of vaccines should be accelerated. Significantly more vaccine should be available in the 2nd quarter of 2021. From January 12th the vaccination centers in MV will be opened step by step for people aged 80 and over who live at home. Those affected will be informed in writing in letters.
9. Daycare centers and elementary schools up to the 6th grade remain open. If possible, however, the children should be looked after at home; the requirement to be present is no longer required. From grade 7 there are distance lessons. Starting next week, the graduating classes 10 and 12 and the final years of the vocational schools will be allowed to return to face-to-face classes so that they can prepare well for their exams.
10. Parents should each receive ten additional children’s sick days and the corresponding child sickness benefit for caring for their children at home; single parents should receive 20 days.
Details on schools and daycare centers will be presented on Wednesday
Education Minister Bettina Martin (SPD) and Social Affairs Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) will present details of the measures in schools and daycare centers on Wednesday. Among other things, according to Schwesig, the state government wants to decide on January 18 whether face-to-face teaching is possible where the incidence value is below 50.
New state regulation will be passed on Friday
The measures decided will be presented to the political groups on Wednesday. The state parliament is to discuss this on Thursday before the measures are incorporated into the state ordinance on Friday and the document is adopted. On January 25, the federal and state governments will meet again to discuss how to proceed on February 1.
Further information
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