Corona: 2G ribbons for shopping

• fromEast Tinç

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Several Hessian municipalities rely on a one-time registration for visits to retail, gastronomy and the Christmas market in order to facilitate controls.

Hede Fijanipoudonak thinks it’s a good idea. “Then you don’t have to show your proof in every shop,” she says. The 67-year-old lives in the Oberrad district of Frankfurt and went shopping in downtown Offenbach on Monday. Since yesterday, a pavilion of the city has been in the Frankfurter Straße, which gives out blue ribbons to everyone who shows either their convalescence or their vaccination certificate. This means that in the near future people will be able to shop in stores for non-everyday needs, visit restaurants and the Christmas market without having to identify themselves each time, as has been the law since last Wednesday. At least in theory.

In the Offenbach stores, word of that hadn’t got around everywhere on Monday morning. A woman complained at the pavilion that she was brusquely turned away from the Komm-Center despite the ribbon. Another woman reported a similar experience in a clothing store. “Then we can leave it alone,” was her opinion. City spokesman Fabian El-Cheikh said on Monday that City Manager Birgitt Möbus will go to all stores again to point out the 2G ribbons to retailers and restaurants. “It was a bit of a hassle,” said El-Cheikh. It was only on Friday that the city decided to introduce the ribbon model, as in other Hessian municipalities.

Faster controls

Nidda in the Wetterau district was the first municipality. Wetzlar, Alsfeld (Vogelsberg), Limburg, Hofheim, Bad Homburg and Offenbach as the first major cities have followed suit. The whole thing is still being checked in Frankfurt and other cities. “We now want to quickly establish a system for the period up to the end of the year. Then we can learn from the first experiences and take action at any time and, if necessary, extend the campaign in an adapted form, ”explains Offenbach’s Mayor Felix Schwenke (SPD).

Even with the ribbon model, retail and catering will continue to have to check every customer directly at the door. If you don’t have a ribbon, you still have to show proof of 2G everywhere. “But the ribbon is checked faster than an identity card and proof of vaccination. And that applies in particular to everyone who wants to go to more than one store in one day – they save themselves the process several times over, “says Schwenke.

In Bavaria, however, the ribbon model has been stopped with reference to the Bavarian Infection Protection Measures Ordinance. This means that every facility that applies 2G must also be checked. With the ribbon model, however, only the presence of a ribbon would be checked, but not vaccination status and identity. The Hessian Ministry of Social Affairs and Health considers the ribbon model to be unproblematic. “The prerequisite, however, is that these ribbons are actually only given to authorized persons and that the ribbons cannot be reused or reused,” said the ministry on request. Despite the ribbon, the corresponding proof must be carried and shown on request.

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