Saturday 20th November 2021
Federal states tighten course
Lauterbach expects further partial lockdowns
From next week, Saxony will shut down certain areas of public life. Bavarian hotspots are going into lockdown. Other federal states are also tightening their corona rules. SPD health expert Lauterbach expects that there will be even more partial closings.
In view of the rapidly increasing number of cases, Germany is heading for ever more severe restrictions on public life in the corona pandemic. He is assuming that after Bavaria and Saxony, other federal states will initiate partial closings, said the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach on Deutschlandfunk. On this Saturday, stricter corona rules also came into force in Saarland and Hamburg.
“I really hope that we can still prevent drastic measures as in Austria,” said Lauterbach to t-online with a view to the nationwide lockdown that was decided there. Whether new restrictions would have to be decided in Germany at the next federal-state meeting on December 9th, now depends on everyone’s behavior.
The federal and state governments agreed on a uniform concept for the gradual tightening of protective measures on Thursday. The central benchmark is the hospitalization rate, which indicates the number of corona patients admitted to hospital within one week per 100,000 inhabitants. From a quota of 3 in the leisure sector, 2G applies across the board and from 6 a 2G-plus rule applies. From a rate of 9, the federal states can introduce further tightening such as contact restrictions.
Two counties have incidence over 1500
“We all have that in hand,” Lauterbach told t-online. “If we do not consistently adhere to 2G and 2G plus, we will have a very big problem – with corresponding tightening as a result.” The measures now taken did not work immediately, Lauterbach said on Deutschlandfunk. “You have to be realistic.” He is therefore assuming that there will be other federal states that “have to close things locally”.
The nationwide seven-day incidence rose to a new high for the 13th consecutive day. As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in the morning, the national average increased to 362.2 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days. The highest values were in the Bavarian district of Freyung-Grafenau with around 1565 new infections and in the district of Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains with 1536.
Bavaria imposed a lockdown on Friday for districts with a corona incidence of over 1000. In addition, the government in Munich canceled all Christmas markets across the country and ordered the closure of clubs, bars and all night-time restaurants. Saxony followed a little later. Christmas markets were also canceled there and cultural and leisure facilities were closed from Monday. Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer said the situation was “highly dramatic”. 2G or 2G plus rules alone were no longer enough.
Hamburg and Saarland expand 2G, curfew in the southwest
Stricter rules came into force in Saarland and Hamburg this Saturday. The 2G rule generally applies to indoor areas in restaurants, for example, as well as to indoor sports. In Saarland, people who have been vaccinated and recovered must also be tested according to the 2G-plus rule when visiting clubs and discos.
Stricter measures are also being used in Baden-Württemberg. Due to an exceptionally strong increase in corona infections, unvaccinated people in the Schwarzwald-Baar district are only allowed to leave their apartments at night for good reason from Monday. Leaving your own four walls in the Corona hotspot between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. is only allowed for medical emergencies and for work reasons, said District Administrator Sven Hinterseh. The general ruling applies from Monday.
On Thursday, the State Health Office reported an exceptionally strong increase in the number of infections in the Schwarzwald-Baar district over the past seven days. “The seven-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants according to the stated reporting status is 659.6 and thus well above the national average,” it said. On this Saturday the value is 590.
The chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), Thomas Mertens, does not believe that the fourth corona wave can be broken through increased vaccination. “You have to say that vaccinations can actually no longer play a role in overcoming the acute situation at the moment,” he told the Phoenix broadcaster on Friday evening. Nevertheless, it is necessary to continue vaccinating, because “the vaccinations are very important for what it will look like in the next year.”