Thursday, December 02, 2021
MPK disagreed on stadiums and firecrackers
Union calls for fireworks ban in federal-state round
The federal and state governments want to put together another large package of measures today to break the corona wave. This should have an impact on the holidays: families with unvaccinated members over the age of 15 will have to limit their contacts. Fireworks could be like last New Year’s Eve.
The coming turn of the year will also be comparatively quiet: At the Prime Minister’s Conference with the federal government that began at noon, the federal states with the CDU Prime Ministers as well as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are pushing for a renewed ban on the sale of pyrotechnics before New Year’s Eve. “In addition, there is a ban on fireworks in public places to be defined by the municipalities”, is the demand of the Union side in a draft resolution available to ntv.
It is unclear whether the SPD countries and the upcoming traffic light government will agree. The suggestion is that additional stress on the intensive care units should be avoided. That was the justification for last year’s ban, when the number of intensely treated Corona specimens was lower than currently. In addition, this measure was intended to avoid the gathering of people on the street, while meetings in apartments were already subject to strict lockdown restrictions.
The representatives of the federal states as well as the outgoing and upcoming federal governments have been deliberating since late morning. They want to adopt a comprehensive package of measures to break the fourth wave of pandemics. Among other things, it is still a matter of dispute how the limitation of large indoor and outdoor events should be. The Union side proposes to allow a maximum of 5000 people inside. For the outside area it should be a maximum of 15,000. In both cases, it is a question of limiting the respective capacities to a third. That would mean significantly lower attendance numbers in many stadiums, for example.
2G and squirting pharmacists everywhere
It is also unclear to what extent the Infection Protection Act amended by the traffic light will be supplemented by measures that will expire on December 24th when the pandemic emergency ends. For example, it could be possible to close restaurants again. A uniform incidence value above which clubs and discos must be closed in all countries is also being sought. School operations, on the other hand, should remain untouched.
For people who have not been vaccinated, the Bund-Länder group wants to agree restrictions on private get-togethers. A decision basis as of Thursday morning provided that if at least one unvaccinated person aged 15 and over was involved, a maximum of two people from another household were allowed to join.
The 2G rules are to be extended nationwide to the entire retail sector, with exceptions for shops for everyday needs. In addition, there are agreements to accelerate the vaccination campaign, for example that vaccinations can also be used in dental practices and pharmacies. By the end of the year, the federal government also wants to decide how long 2G certificates will remain valid.