Corona pandemic: dispute over the 2G rule in retail is intensifying

After the court-ordered repeal of the 2G rule in retail throughout Lower Saxony, the dispute over corona-related access restrictions in German shopping streets and shopping centers is intensifying.

The German Retail Association (HDE) called on politicians on Friday to “leave 2G behind in retail”. The federal government, on the other hand, expressly adhered to the bans on access for unvaccinated people in large parts of the retail trade. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said that it made no epidemiological or health policy sense to overturn such rules now. This is particularly true because of the impending wave with the new virus variant Omikron.

The Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court overturned the 2G rule in the state’s retail trade on Thursday after a lawsuit by the department store chain Woolworth. The court decided that the measure was not necessary to further contain the coronavirus and was not compatible with the general principle of equality. On December 2, the federal and state governments decided that 2G should apply nationwide and regardless of the incidence in retail. Exceptions to the 2G rule apply to shops with daily needs, such as supermarkets and drug stores.

Significant consequences after court ruling

The judgment of the Lower Saxony administrative judge has considerable consequences. Because a nationwide uniform strategy for combating corona in retail can no longer be talked about. In Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, people who have not been vaccinated can now shop in all stores again, while department stores and electronics stores are still closed to them in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, 50 kilometers away.

Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil has therefore already warned that more people could now come to the country without a corona vaccination. With the decision of the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) Lüneburg, Lower Saxony now has a special role in Germany, said the SPD politician of the German Press Agency. «All other countries have 2G in retail. I do not hope that this leads to a special kind of shopping tourism, because unvaccinated people can go shopping in Lower Saxony. “

Weil announced that the state government will now decide at very short notice about new corona requirements for business. “I can rule out that things will continue as before, only without 2G.” A revised Corona regulation for retail in Lower Saxony should be in the first half of the coming week. A 3G rule could be conceivable, with which people who have not been vaccinated would need a negative test.

Bavaria wants to adhere to the latest Corona requirements. “We are in the middle of the fourth wave of the pandemic, our intensive care units are full,” said Bavaria’s Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek (CSU) of the dpa in Munich. In addition, the Omikron variant is just around the corner. “In this environment, calling for the 2G rules to be repealed is unreasonable.” The access regulations including the 2G regulation for the retail trade are still required, said Holetschek.

Genth: All federal states should leave 2G behind

Meanwhile, HDE managing director Stefan Genth called on politicians to turn away from 2G. “Hygiene concepts, distance and the obligation to wear FFP2 masks are not only sufficient in Lower Saxony, but regardless of the state, to prevent infections in retail,” he told the German press agency. “Therefore, other state governments must now follow suit, revise the applicable regulations so that 2G can leave behind in retail and work together for a nationwide solution.”

The Lower Saxony ruling gave the direction here, said Genth. However, the judiciary is still divided on the corona restrictions. In Schleswig-Holstein, an urgent application by Woolworth against the 2G rule had only recently been rejected by the competent court. The states of Hesse and Saxony have already announced that they want to continue to adhere to the 2G rule.