The corona numbers are rising unchecked. Stricter measures should bring about the turning point. But are they enough? Proponents of a general vaccination requirement continue to receive support.
In the fight against the fourth corona wave, new measures are coming into force in many places in Germany. In several federal states, 2G rules apply from this Wednesday – that means access only for vaccinated and convalescent people.
Several state cabinets have adjusted their ordinances to this end. In addition, the amended Infection Protection Act comes into force, which provides stricter rules in the workplace as well as on buses and trains. Meanwhile, calls for even stricter measures are getting louder.
Debate about compulsory vaccination continues
The parliamentary group leader of the Greens, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, is in favor of a general compulsory vaccination under certain conditions. “A general compulsory vaccination means an encroachment on the basic rights of every single person,” she told the German press agency. “Compared to measures that strongly affect the freedom of society as a whole, such as recurring lockdowns with severe contact restrictions and serious consequences, especially for children, but also economic consequences, compulsory vaccination is the milder means.” What needs to be clarified, however, is how this can best be enforced and controlled. This requires the expertise of scientists and the German Ethics Council.
The deputy chairman of the ethics council, Susanne Schreiber, told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday) that, depending on the drama of the situation, a general vaccination requirement could “no longer be fundamentally rejected from an ethical point of view.” It carries the risk of lowering the voluntary acceptance of vaccinations due to its patronizing nature. “At the moment, however, we cannot ignore the fact that the pandemic situation is worsening massively.”
CDU politician Friedrich Merz is skeptical about compulsory vaccinations, but considers an extensive lockdown for unvaccinated people to be proportionate. Those who have not been vaccinated or recovered should “only be able to go to the pharmacy, the supermarket and the doctor,” said Merz to the editorial network in Germany (RND / Wednesday). The following must apply: “No more unvaccinated people in the office, no more unvaccinated soccer players on the lawn, no more unvaccinated MPs in the Bundestag, no more unvaccinated students in the classroom.”
Stricter corona rules in several federal states
In the meantime, 2G rules are taking effect across the board in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example in discos, clubs or at carnival celebrations, even those who have been vaccinated and recovered must also submit a current negative test (2G plus).
In Baden-Württemberg, too, people who have been vaccinated and recovered need the additional negative test certificate at events as well as in bars and clubs. In addition, unvaccinated people in hotspots will only be allowed to go outside at night with a valid reason and will no longer have access to most shops – the basic provision of food, for example, is excluded.
With the exception of retail, Bavaria is introducing the 2G rule everywhere; 2G plus applies in many cultural and leisure facilities. Unvaccinated people are only allowed to meet a few other people. Clubs and bars have to close, restaurants are only allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. Christmas markets are canceled. In culture and sport, the maximum number of spectators is 25 percent. In hotspots with a seven-day incidence of more than 1000, restaurants, hotels, sports and cultural venues have to close.
Far-reaching 2G rules now also apply in Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Brandenburg extends this to retail, with the exception of supermarkets and other shops for daily needs. Christmas markets are closed. Unvaccinated people have strict contact restrictions.
Infection Protection Act comes into force
From this Wednesday onwards, only employees who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested are to be given nationwide access to companies (3G). This also applies to passengers on buses and trains. If you get caught, you have to get off at the next station. Unvaccinated people who cannot work from home must provide their employer with a daily rapid test or a PCR test that is no more than 48 hours old. The amended Infection Protection Act, which provides for these new measures, is to be evaluated as early as December 9th in a federal-state round and, if necessary, refined.
According to the acting Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU), the meeting could well take place beforehand. “We’ll have to act sooner. We can see that the situation is very serious in Saxony, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia. We will probably have to move patients on a large scale within Germany for the first time. ” Stricter measures for events, bars and clubs would have to be examined. When asked whether he ruled out a partial lockdown, Spahn said: “You shouldn’t exclude anything in this situation, as bitter as it is.”
Source From: Stern
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