Only meetings of 5: Germany tightened the rules and relaxed during Christmas

Strict restrictions on personal contacts will be tightened again for several weeks in the fight against the crown pandemic, but will then be relaxed during Christmas. Prime ministers agreed on this Wednesday after several hours of consultation with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel has called for another “major effort” to bring the high number of corona infections under control. “It depends on each of them,” the Chancellor said. The partial blockade that began in November with the closure of numerous structures interrupted the sharp increase in new infections, but these are still on a plateau.

Contact restrictions should be tightened again, limiting meetings to a maximum of five people from two families. According to human judgment, this will have to apply until the beginning of January. But Christmas should be able to be celebrated – in the closest circle of families and friends with up to ten people, excluding children up to 14. Schleswig-Holstein adheres to its own contact rules.

Berlin Mayor Michael Müller (Spd) stressed that this time the deliberations were “without controversy, without arguments”. The situation is serious. In Berlin, a quarter of the ICU beds are now occupied by Covid19 patients.

In their meeting in late October, the group had decided that for the moment being in public should be allowed only with members of their own family and with one other family, but still a maximum of 10 people. And that violations of these contact restrictions are also sanctioned by regulatory authorities. In mid-November it was then said that even meetings in private rooms should be “limited to a stable home with friends, relatives and acquaintances”. But that was just an urgent recommendation.

There should be uniform rules for students who have been infected with Corona and their classmates. Merkel and federal state prime ministers agreed during their videoconference that students who tested positive would be immediately sent to a five-day quarantine along with their classmates, usually the school class. Weekend days matter. As stated in the joint decision document, affected students should then perform a quick test after five days of quarantine. Anyone who is negative can go back to school. Those that are positive should be tested again every three days until the test is negative.

According to the decision, teachers should not be included in this “cluster isolation” due to “temporary and differently structured contact”. It remains to be seen, however, whether sufficient rapid tests exist for such a procedure. The resolution only says: “The federal government continues to ensure the largest possible contingent of rapid antigen tests for Germany and also supports the development of domestic production capacities.”

This Thursday, Merkel wants to face another debate on the crown crisis in the Bundestag.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, the number of crown deaths reported within 24 hours rose to a high of 410 Wednesday morning. The number of new corona infections reported within 24 hours was 18,633.