The federal and state governments have agreed on the next steps to contain the corona pandemic. Due to the current critical infection situation, wide openings are no longer possible. A step-by-step plan shows what should be possible again when the incidence falls.
The corona pandemic has been determining our everyday life for almost exactly one year. The long decline in new infections and deaths every day shows that the efforts of the past few months are bearing fruit. At the same time, we see that the proportion of virus variant B.1.1.7 is increasing sharply and is now over 50 percent. As expected, the more contagious British virus variant is driving the numbers back up. After the numbers have been falling for weeks, we are now seeing a slight increase again. Experience in other countries shows how dangerous these variants are. In England you can only get down from the high infection rates with a very strict lockdown.
Wide and fast openings could lead straight into an uncontrollable 3rd wave and thus into an even longer and harder lockdown. “That leads us into a dilemma,” said Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann after the meeting between the federal and state governments. “We all long for a respite after many weeks. The consequential damage is increasing. Retail, event organizers, culture and many others are at their limit. And so are most of us. At the same time we know: If we open too carelessly now, the infection numbers will go through the roof. The intensive care units would fill up again within a few weeks. At the latest, the pictures of completely overcrowded hospitals would lead to a hard lockdown, because nobody could answer for a health emergency with triage. “
Wide openings would only be a flash in the pan
Kretschmann warned that it would only take a few weeks from a complete opening. So it would only be a brief moment of opening and euphoria. No more than a flash in the pan that you would end up paying with severe restrictions for a long time. “Nobody can want that,” emphasized Kretschmann. That is why there has been an intense struggle today to find a way out of this dilemma.
“After a year of pandemic, we have to offer more than just black and white, than opening or lockdown,” Kretschmann made clear. You have to make full use of all the technical possibilities that are now available. Those that are still missing must be pushed ahead with high pressure. “I am quite satisfied with the decision, as at the previous conferences, we have found a line with measure and center. This includes other smaller opening steps that we have already determined for the coming week. “
Four pillars for an opening perspective
Prime Minister Kretschmann named four pillars on which one relies: “Firstly, vaccinations. To do this, we will double the vaccination rate in the coming weeks. We already include people in the second prioritization group, for example teachers and supervisors. From the end of March / beginning of April, vaccination should also begin in general practitioners’ and specialist practices in order to spread vaccinations as quickly as possible. Second, we rely on intelligent protection concepts, for example by booking time slots for purchases in advance. Third, digital tools such as the Luca-App. And fourthly, on free testing, more precisely: on the linking of rapid tests, self-tests and openings. That’s why I made myself strong in the run-up to our consultations, ”said Kretschmann, summarizing the general conditions.
The federal and state governments today agreed in principle on a further course of action. As always, the details will now be incorporated into the Corona regulations in the countries. The new rules should apply from Monday March 8th.
- Private meetings should again be able to take place with two households but not more than five people. Children of the two household numbers up to and including 14 years of age do not count towards the number of persons. Couples who do not live together count as one household.
- Bookstores should also be allowed to open to retailers under the applicable conditions. The range restrictions for the nurseries, flower shops, tree nurseries, gardening, DIY and Raiffeisen markets that are already open do not apply.
- The body-related services that are still closed should be allowed to reopen. A daily quick test for the customer is a prerequisite for treatments on the face where a mask cannot be worn permanently. This also applies to the hairdressers and barbershops that are already open. All services may be offered here again.
- If the 7-day incidence in a country or region is stable (i.e. three days in a row) below 50, the following rules should apply:
- The retail trade, which is still closed, should be able to reopen under the hygiene requirements that already apply to the open retail trade.
- Museums, galleries and botanical gardens can reopen.
- Contact-free sport outdoors and on outdoor sports facilities is possible with up to ten people.
- If the 7-day incidence in a country or region is above 50 but stable (i.e. three days in a row) below 100, the following rules should apply:
- The retail trade, which is still closed, should be able to offer so-called Click & Meet offers. Here, customers can get advice and go shopping in the store by making an appointment in advance. No more than one customer per 40 square meters of sales area may be present.
- Museums, galleries and botanical gardens can reopen. However, visitors have to register. The operator must document the visitors for a possible contact follow-up.
- Contact-free sport outdoors and on outdoor sports facilities is possible for a maximum of five people from no more than two households.
- Otherwise, the regulations currently in force should remain in place.
The state government has agreed to use the incidences in the counties as a benchmark for the incidence-dependent easing measures and not the national incidence. This means that if the 7-day incidence in a district is stable below 100 or 50, the measures there can be relaxed according to the steps described above. The exact implementation is regulated in the new Corona regulation.
“Now it will be a matter of translating the resolutions for Baden-Württemberg. I will be able to present that tomorrow in the plenary session of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament. This also includes the question of how we deal with the regions and the impending danger of shopping tourism if one region opens and the neighboring regions are still available, ”announced Kretschmann.
Emergency brake if the incidence is over 100
Independently of the federal-state consultations, the state government has agreed that grades 5 and 6 should again be given face-to-face lessons on March 15. All students should come into the school building and be distributed over several rooms there.
“But I would also like to refer to the so-called emergency brake: If the seven-day incidence exceeds 100, everything goes back to the decision before March 3,” announced Kretschmann. We must not repeat the mistakes made in autumn, when we let the second wave rage for too long, but must do everything we can to ensure that a third wave does not pile up. this also includes that we all adhere to the measures and the AHA + CL rules heed. Now more than ever. “
The federal government and the federal states have also agreed to gradually expand the national test strategy by the end of April and thus accompany the opening steps. “We want to reduce the risks of these openings by using rapid tests,” said Prime Minister Kretschmann in his statement. “That creates perspective, also for possible further openings. Corona rapid tests that anyone can do themselves have been approved for a few days. That’s why I advocated using these simple self-tests to enable opening steps. ”He still had to ask for patience when it came to outdoor catering, but Kretschmann was confident that tests could also get you into an opening a little faster.
Bund disappointed in rapid tests
“As for the tests, I’m very disappointed with the federal government. There were big announcements regarding free tests for everyone, also in terms of free testing for individual areas. Yesterday it became clear that no action followed the announcement. nothing has been ordered yet. Fortunately, we have made advance payments in the country and have ordered seven million rapid tests of the new generation, which are easy to use and can also be used yourself. The first 2.5 million will be delivered in the next two weeks. “
It is important in the strategy that every positive rapid test must be confirmed immediately with a so-called PCR test. In this way, chains of infection can be interrupted quickly and effectively.
What’s next?
The federal and state governments have also agreed on a step-by-step plan (PDF) for further openings, which are possible with a stable national or regional incidence of less than 50.
Otherwise, the measures will initially remain in place until March 28, 2021. If countries already achieve an incidence below 50, you can also take further easing steps earlier using the step-by-step plan.
The results of the federal-state conference are fundamental decisions. As always, these are now being incorporated into their respective regulations by the federal states. On Friday, the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg will hold a special session in which Prime Minister Kretschmann will inform about the results and solicit the approval of the parliamentary groups. The new regulation will then be published on Baden-Württemberg.de at the weekend after the participation of, among others, the ministries, the municipal state associations and the standards testing committee.
Resolution of the video switching conference between the Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states on March 3, 2021 (PDF)
Agreement to apply regional incidence to opening steps
Further information on the coronavirus in Baden-Württemberg
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