AIn view of the rapidly increasing number of infections, several federal states decided or promised tougher measures on Tuesday. In Bavaria, subject to the approval of the state parliament, strict contact restrictions for the unvaccinated are to apply from Wednesday. Accordingly, only a maximum of five people from two households are allowed to meet. All clubs, discotheques and bars have to close, restaurants are only allowed to remain open until 10 p.m. Christmas markets are cancelled. Cultural and sporting events may then only take place with a maximum occupancy of 25 percent of spectators.
With a new effort and a “breakwater”, Bavaria must now master this situation, it was said. The vaccination centers would continue to be ramped up massively. In addition, from Wednesday onwards, nationwide 2-G rules (vaccinated or recovered) should also apply to hairdressers, universities, music, driving and adult education colleges as well as libraries. In many areas such as cultural and sporting events, trade fairs and conferences, a 2-G-Plus regulation should even apply. That means access only for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, who have also previously completed a negative rapid test. However, the wholesale and retail trade, medical and therapeutic services as well as sports and music offers for unvaccinated young people, who regularly test negative in schools, should be exempt from the 2-G regulations.
Bouffier: Vaccination to be decided at federal level
The Bavarian state government has called for general vaccination against the corona virus at federal level. If the vaccination rate does not improve significantly in the coming weeks, the federal government must consider this, according to the cabinet report on Tuesday. The situation in the Bavarian hospitals is very serious: almost every available intensive care bed is occupied. The seven-day incidence in ten Bavarian districts is currently over 1000. The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and his Baden-Württemberg counterpart Winfried Kretschmann had called for a nationwide general vaccination requirement in a guest article in the FAZ.
Hesse’s Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) also considers general vaccination to be constitutionally feasible. It is important to make the regulation carefully – it cannot be done in two weeks, said the Hessian head of government on Tuesday in Wiesbaden. When asked whether compulsory vaccination in Germany could come as quickly as in Austria, Bouffier said the date of February 1, 2022 was “sporty”. But you should try to have “a very serious discussion” as quickly as possible, which will then also reach your goal. He pointed out that compulsory vaccination could not be decided in Hesse, but only at the federal level.
Lawyers see a compatibility of compulsory vaccination with the Basic Law – how do you justify that?
The head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, was skeptical. “I’ve always had to behave very carefully there because I also have the impression that there is also a lot of potential for division in our society for those who then see themselves forced by the law, so to speak,” said the CDU politician and candidate for the Party chair of the newspaper Die Welt. Hamburg’s First Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) does not rule out compulsory corona vaccination, but does not currently consider it a priority. “I don’t think a general obligation to vaccinate is out of the question if a sufficient vaccination rate cannot be achieved in any other way,” said Tschentscher on Tuesday in Hamburg. It is much more important for him to immediately introduce facility-related vaccination requirements, for example in clinics and care facilities.
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