Wednesday, April 7th, 2021
New Infection Protection Act?
Merkel plans lockdown requirements for countries
Calls for uniform corona measures are getting louder these days. The Chancellor seems to have heard her because, according to a media report, Merkel is planning to change the Infection Act. That would mean a uniform tightening of lockdowns across the country.
According to a report, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is aiming to change the Infection Protection Act to combat the corona pandemic. The aim is to standardize the Corona measures nationwide, reports the “Bild” newspaper, citing government circles. Accordingly, districts should be obliged to tighten their measures in the event of increased incidence and R values, as well as taking other factors into account.
According to “Bild”, members of the Union are already planning an initiative with the support of the parliamentary group to enable the federal government to enact corona measures by means of a statutory ordinance. Thus, in addition to the state governments, the federal government would also be authorized to impose corona restrictions.
One of the initiators of the initiative, CDU presidium member Norbert Röttgen, said to “Bild”: “It’s not about weakening the federal states. It’s about the federal government being able to act at all.” So far, around two dozen MPs have supported the initiative. But not all Union MPs were written to.
The discussion about whether more decision-making powers in corona policy should be shifted to the federal level has been smoldering since the end of March. Merkel had said in the ARD program “Anne Will” that the countries would have to “step up” in the fight against pandemics. She criticized easing steps and at the same time stated that the federal government could itself take the initiative to change the Infection Protection Act. A government spokesman said at the weekend that consideration was being given to “whether and how the federal government should make uniform guidelines if the federal states’ procedures are not sufficient”.
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