Monday, March 25

Germany is Preparing Corona Measures for Autumn and Winter

The German government foresees a fourth wave of the coronavirus in the autumn and is preparing to impose restrictions on the population again in the autumn and winter. But an effective lockdown like a year ago could probably be prevented thanks to the vaccination campaign, according to documents earmarked for top talks on the issue.

 

Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with state prime ministers on Tuesday about what measures should apply. The proposals that are then on the table are reported in German media. They expect the heads of government to make the decision immediately on Tuesday.

The government believes that keeping distance, mouth caps and other hygienic regulations should be maintained in certain places. These are places where many people gather in closed spaces, where vulnerable people are present, or where it is not known who has been vaccinated. It appears that the masks must be worn until the spring of 2022 in public transport and in shops, including by people who have been vaccinated or who have been cured of the virus.

The Ministry of Health also wants to continue to use vaccinations and corona tests to prevent people who pose a risk of infection because they have not been vaccinated from entering areas where there are many people. From early or mid-September, major events, indoors or outdoors, in the hospitality industry, sports, and certain forms of person-to-person services should be subject to the obligation that visitors or participants are vaccinated, cured or tested throughout the country. In the documents, this is called the 3G rule (vaccinated, cured, tested). The rule will then apply everywhere, regardless of the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in a week in the region.

In regions where the number of new infections is high or relatively few people have been vaccinated, more restrictions should be imposed on the unvaccinated. Therefore, other factors could also be considered. For example, whether the infections occur remarkably often in a certain age group. Stricter restrictions would then apply to those age groups.

In addition to an approaching fourth wave of the virus, the ministry also sees that people’s behaviour is starting to resemble that of before the pandemic. And the weather of autumn and winter will also have an influence. Therefore, according to the ministry officials, it must now be decided how the fourth wave can be contained.

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