New restrictions planned: the federal and state governments want to advise on Tuesday

New restrictions planned
The federal and state governments want to advise on Tuesday

The Expert Council paints a dramatic picture of an omicron wave – and suggests, for example, contact restrictions. The federal and state governments want to react, and there should be a new conference of prime ministers on Tuesday. It could be about events.

Because of the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the corona virus, there should be a new federal-state round before Christmas. The special session should take place on Tuesday, as ntv learned from government circles. According to a media report, the federal government is considering further restrictions on events. Corresponding contact restrictions could be decided at the summit, reported the editorial network Germany (RND), citing government circles.

It is conceivable that the upper limit for indoor events will be reduced from 50 to 20 to 25 participants and for outdoor events from 200 to 100 participants. In addition, clubs and discos could be closed. According to the RND, the restrictions are not expected to come into force until after the Christmas holidays.

The Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council had recommended the rapid introduction of new contact restrictions due to the spread of omicrons. According to the experts, there is a need for action “already for the next few days”. To justify its recommendation, the council referred to the omicron virus variant, which is considered particularly infectious and which brings a “new dimension” to the pandemic: “The doubling time of the omicron incidence assumed in Germany is currently in the range of around two to four days” the paper says.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach had previously ruled out a lockdown. “No, we won’t have a lockdown like in the Netherlands before Christmas,” said the SPD politician to the ARD’s “report from Berlin”. Regarding the question of a lockdown in Germany after the festive season, Lauterbach Bild-TV said: “I don’t think we will have a hard lockdown there either.”

Wüst calls for a common strategy

Previously, the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst had already requested a joint timetable for the federal and state governments to deal with Omikron before Christmas. “We need a common strategy against Omikron,” said the CDU politician of the German press agency. NRW presides over the conference of the ministers presidents. Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann from the Greens said dpa that he was very alarmed about what he was hearing about Omikron.

In order to slow the spread of Omikron in Germany, the federal government decided that entry from Great Britain will be drastically restricted from Monday. The UK has been classified as a virus variant area – this is the highest risk category. A two-week quarantine obligation applies to those entering the country, including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. It cannot be shortened by negative tests. The situation in Great Britain had worsened in the past few days due to Omikron.

In the Netherlands, given the rapidly expanding Omikron variant, a hard lockdown came into effect. Almost all shops, restaurants, cultural and sports facilities, schools and hairdressers remain closed. Supermarkets and pharmacies are excluded. Denmark is also shutting down large parts of public life.

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