Will Merkel and Co.’s lockdown be extended to mid-February today? Lower Saxony and Bremen disagree about the FFP2 mask requirement. And when it comes to home office?
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is discussing the pandemic situation in Germany and how to proceed again this afternoon with the sixteen country leaders. She advocates tightening contact restrictions and advocates consistent home office. Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) hopes for clear decisions, especially since there is still no agreement on many points in advance. These four items in particular are on the agenda.
1 Extension and tightening of the lockdown
The currently applicable Corona regulations are officially valid until January 31st. But on Tuesday the 16 country leaders discussed with the Chancellor whether the measures should be extended. Bovenschulte assumes that the decision will be made.
The pandemic is not yet over. We must carry on with resolute pandemic control.
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Andreas Bovenschulte, Bremen’s Mayor
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Lower Saxony has also spoken out in advance for an extension of the lockdown – until mid-February. State Secretary Jörg Mielke (SPD) announced in a special meeting of the social committee that the neighboring federal state did not believe in a further tightened lockdown with a view to the economic damage. Bremen, on the other hand, is in favor of tightening the currently applicable measures and is already discussing an FFP2 mask requirement in local public transport and in retail.
2 FFP2 mask requirement in local transport and retail
The FFP2 mask requirement in retail and public transport has been in effect throughout Bavaria since Monday. At yesterday’s conference of transport ministers it was not possible to agree on an obligation to wear FFP2 masks.
According to Bovenschulte, Bremen had “very good experiences with FFP2 masks”. In November and December, people from Bremen who are over 60 years old could pick up free protective masks from pharmacies. Other risk groups were also given the masks. It is still unclear whether Bremen is in favor of an FFP2 mask requirement and for which areas this could apply. Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) also thinks the introduction of FFP2 protective masks is conceivable.
The state government of Lower Saxony, on the other hand, rejects an FFP2 mask requirement, since the protective masks are not suitable for all people and life situations. However, an extension of the mask requirement to surgical protective masks instead of cloth masks in certain areas such as old people’s homes is being discussed. These would offer more protection, said Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU).
3 Nocturnal exit restrictions
In countries like Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, it already applies: The night curfew. Now it is nationwide also a topic of conversation for the federal-state consultations on Tuesday. The nocturnal curfew could mean that, as in Bavaria, your own apartment could only be left in a few exceptional cases between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. The way to and from work is still possible. Delivery services are also likely to deliver, but customers no longer pick up their meals.
We realize we are about to tighten the screws too tight.
Jörg Mielke, State Secretary of Lower Saxony
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There is resistance from Lower Saxony against this nationwide possible regulation. It does not want to support the nationwide night curfew and justifies this with the comparatively low number of infections in its own country. The curfew is already in place in circles with a high infection rate: In cities and counties with an incidence of more than 200 per 100,000 inhabitants and week, such a measure would make sense and will also be accepted by the people, said Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stefan Weil (SPD) on Monday in the ‘Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung’.
4 Right to work from home for everyone
In addition to the contact restrictions in private life, it should also be discussed how employers should continue to deal with the pandemic and whether working life should also be restricted more.
Bremen advocates the right to work from home in the fight against the corona pandemic: “We should get a regulation that wherever it is possible, home office must be offered,” Bremen’s mayor demands in the ARD morning magazine on Monday. Lower Saxony’s Stefan Weil also considers such a regulation to be sensible.
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) is examining the legal options for increasing the home office quota. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had already called for work from home in mid-January and warned employers to make this possible. In Germany, however, there is no legal basis for an obligation to work from home, just as there is no legal right to work from home. Nevertheless, Heil expresses himself cautiously: “Wherever possible, home office must be done” and thus supports Bremen’s position.
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This topic in the program:
buten un binnen, 19. Februar 2021, 19:30 Uhr
