Vacationers come home, schools start again, infections are increasing: In the fight against Corona, the federal and state governments want to arm themselves today in a new round for difficult weeks.
In the fight against the pandemic, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the Prime Ministers will meet for a video conference on Tuesday after a long break. In view of the rapidly increasing number of infections, the corona course should be clarified for the autumn – with readjustments in vaccination and testing and specifications for possible further restrictions. The declared goal: to avert a new big wave and a new lockdown.
A good six weeks before the general election, it is also a question of which course can now be set with the prospect of widespread acceptance. Or whether there is still a violent Corona election campaign going on.
The focus is on several starting points, as they emerge from a draft resolution proposal for the federal-state conference available to the German Press Agency as of Monday evening – but important aspects were still open. The “Bild” newspaper and the editorial network Germany also reported on the paper.
Vaccinate
After months of trouble about the shortage of vaccines and too few vaccination appointments, both are now in abundance – as promised by the federal government for the summer. Now it is important to get as many hesitant citizens as possible for vaccinations as quickly as possible to protect against the more contagious Delta virus variant. “Every vaccination counts!”, Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) appealed. Around 45.6 million people nationwide are fully vaccinated – almost 55 percent of all residents. However, some federal states have a lot of catching up to do.
Testing
Proposals were already met in advance, with broad approval, to phase out the offer of free rapid tests for everyone in the fall – also as an extra impetus for more vaccinations, which are free of charge.
The Federal Ministry of Health had proposed the move for mid-October – the exact date was still open for the time being. Rapid tests should then only be free of charge for people who cannot be vaccinated or for whom there is no general vaccination recommendation, such as for pregnant women or those under the age of 18.
Protective measures
There were no major discussions about leaving basic protection at a distance, hygiene and masking requirements in certain areas: in buses and trains or in shops. Uniform rules could be reorganized to anchor the “3G rule” for access to certain facilities: that is, that only those who have been vaccinated, recovered or who have recently tested negative can enter or participate. This was discussed for clinics and nursing homes, indoor sports and events, indoor catering, body-hugging services such as hairdressers and accommodation. It was recently disputed whether “2G” should also apply to some things: access only for vaccinated and convalescent people, which private providers can do anyway.
The corona framework
It became apparent that an important legal basis should also remain in place. The health ministers of the federal states unanimously agreed on Monday that the Bundestag should once again extend the “epidemic situation of national importance” that had initially been established until September 11th. Parliament last confirmed this on June 11th – without a renewed vote, the special situation would expire after three months. It gives the federal government the right to issue direct ordinances, for example on tests and vaccinations. According to the Infection Protection Act, measures such as mask compulsory or contact restrictions, which the federal states can determine, relate to the determination of this “epidemic situation”.
See in the video: More than 230,000 demonstrators and 180 rallies nationwide: In France, the anger over compulsory vaccinations and the Corona passport is increasing. After massive protests, the government has toned down some planned tightening of the corona rules.
