Corona: New resolutions under criticism: “Hard blow for gastronomy”

In view of the renewed increase in the number of infections, the federal and state governments have tightened the corona rules for gastronomy. From Monday, a 2G-plus regulation will apply nationwide for restaurants, cafés and pubs. This means that only those who have been boosted or have been vaccinated twice with a daily test should have access. Several federal states had already decided on the new regulation before the Prime Minister’s Conference. But not everyone is involved: Saxony-Anhalt has announced that it will not implement the regulation – Bavaria also wants to examine the plans.

In addition, the federal-state group wants to relax the quarantine regulations. Boosted contacts will be exempted from quarantine in the future. The new exception also applies to those who have just been vaccinated twice and who have recently recovered – i.e. to contact persons whose illness or vaccination was less than three months ago.

They cause divided reactions. An overview.

Opposition criticizes tightened gastro rules

Criticism came mainly from the opposition. Left parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch described the tightened 2G-Plus regulation as a “hard blow” for the catering industry. The hospitalization rate hardly seems to play a role anymore. Politicians narrowed the view to the incidences, which in the case of the Omikron variant said little about the burden on the health system. “With the resolutions, the fight against pandemics falls back into old, wrong patterns,” said Bartsch to the editorial network Germany (RND).

AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel criticized the new rules as “panic-driven”. Again, the seven-day incidence will be looked at, “instead of primarily making the utilization of the hospitals and especially the intensive care units the basis for decision-making”. “Without adequate financial compensation, 2G plus would be the final coffin nail for the industry,” she said after the MPK.

There was also sharp criticism from the industry itself: “With 2G Plus, politicians see us as part of the solution to accelerate the booster campaign. At the same time, we are referred to as a problem area, which is unacceptable,” said the managing director of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association ( Dehoga), Ingrid Hartges, the “picture”. You expect more appreciation and respect for the industry. The food, enjoyment, and restaurants union (NGG) welcomed the stricter Corona rules for the catering trade, but demanded a minimum short-time work allowance of 1200 euros per month for employees.

Easing of the quarantine requirement is controversial

Praise for the relaxed quarantine requirement came mainly from the municipalities. The shortening of the quarantine and isolation times makes sense, said district council president Reinhard Sager of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. This creates a good balance between containing the virus and securing important infrastructure areas. The German Association of Towns and Municipalities also assessed the resolutions as fundamentally positive, but missed “clear future prospects”.

But the new regulations also meet with criticism. The exemption from quarantine for freshly vaccinated or recovered contact persons is “medically questionable,” said the chairwoman of the Marburger Bund, Susanne Johna, of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. A person who has recovered from the delta variant is not immune to the omicron variant. “That is why a quarantine must also apply to those who have recently been vaccinated and those who have recovered if there is close contact in the home environment,” demanded Johna.

In an interview with the German Press Agency (DPA), the epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb also expressed concerns: “Completely foregoing quarantine for close contacts that have already been boosted certainly carries a certain risk of maintaining transmission chains.” Although the risk of severe courses in boosted and also double vaccinated people is known to be low, five days minimum quarantine is safer for everyone.

It is currently still unclear when the relaxed quarantine rules will apply. The federal and state governments would make the necessary changes to the legal regulations “promptly”, according to the resolution.

New protests against coronavirus measures announced

In several German cities, opponents of the corona measures want to take to the streets again on Saturday. Around 11,000 people are expected at a demonstration in Hamburg in the afternoon. As on several Saturdays in December, they want to move through the city center under the motto “The measure is full. Hands off our children”, as the police announced. In Düsseldorf, opponents of mandatory vaccination announced a train with several thousand people through the city.

Larger protests are also expected in Freiburg, Frankfurt and Magdeburg. In addition, numerous counter-demonstrations to the corona protests are planned.