Due to the worsening pandemic situation in Germany, Angela Merkel, incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the prime ministers of all 16 federal states agreed on Tuesday that the next summit meeting on the issue will be held as early as this Thursday at 11:00 a.m. Previously, the meeting was planned to take place on December 9.
Germany plans to tighten pandemic control measures
For now, it is not known what decisions will be made on the further strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. From Tuesday’s talks among federal and state representatives, it seems that several proposals put forward by the SPD will be discussed:
- the introduction of a universal vaccination obligation, which would come into force by early February at the latest
- Re-enactment of the German Protection Against Infection Act to allow “countries with high infection rates” to take more stringent measures, such as “temporary restaurant closures”
- introduction of the 2G rule in the trade sector
- the possibility for pharmacists, dentists and veterinarians to carry out vaccinations
- recognising that vaccination against coronavirus only provides full protection for six months
- Abandonment of the introduction of a new federal emergency brake
CDU/CSU calls for closure of bars and discos across Germany
The states ruled by the CDU/CSU and Baden-Württemberg, where the Greens are in power, have called for the closure of bars and discos across Germany. They also want a limit to be placed on the number of people who can attend large parties (1/3 of the available places). In addition, the prime ministers of these states have called for a universal vaccination requirement.
Söder hopes for uniform regulations for the whole of Germany
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) said in Dresden that concrete decisions are to be made at Thursday’s meeting. In his view, the priority is to limit contact. He said that it is possible that Bundesliga matches will again be played without an audience. In addition, the federal states should again have more freedom to impose additional restrictions.
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) said on Tuesday that he hoped “uniform regulations” could be worked out at the summit meeting.
Source: www.t-online.de