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Video conference of the federal chancellor with the heads of government of the German states on Feb. 10, 2021
Decision of the German federal government, 10 February 2021
Courtesy Translation: Nadine Bower, Community Relations
Decision
The German Federal Chancellor and the heads of governments of the German states take the following decision:
The far-reaching measures to reduce interpersonal contacts have led to a significant reduction in the number of infections in recent weeks. For the first time since the end of October 2020, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants has been reduced nationwide to less than 80 within seven days. For some federal states, an incidence below 50 is already in sight, although not yet reached. This has been made possible by the fact that citizens have continued to reduced contacts and have also supported the limitations of life over this long period of time. The Chancellor and the heads of the German state governments are very grateful for this.
At the same time, variants of the coronavirus with altered properties are spreading. In particular, mutations that are more contagious than the original type of the virus are spreading rapidly and require considerable additional efforts to reduce the number of infections. Therefore, the contact restrictions must be maintained in the coming weeks. Citizens are urged to continue to keep contacts to an absolutely necessary minimum, even in areas where infection rates are constantly decreasing. The principle of 'we stay home' remains the essential tool in the fight against the pandemic and it is saving lives every day. Wearing medical masks indoors significantly reduces the risk of infection – it is therefore strongly recommended in all situations where two or more people meet indoors, unless otherwise required by law.
Opening steps must be taken cautiously and gradually against the background of virus mutants, so as not to risk the successful containment of infections by a new exponential growth in the number of cases. No one would be helped with openings that were done too far or too soon, because it results in further comprehensive restrictions of public life, because the course of infection will then be accelerated again. The federal and state governments will continue to discuss further opening steps in the coming weeks. They will focus primarily on national and regional infectious activity.
It is a great achievement of the scientific community and the vaccine manufacturers, especially in Germany, that about a year after the start of the pandemic, vaccines of different kinds are available, and more will soon be available. They deserve our gratitude and respect.
Fast vaccination of the population is a prerequisite for effectively combating the virus long term. As soon as all citizens can be offered vaccination with appropriate availability, there is a prospect of normalizing our daily lives and returning to a life without pandemic restrictions. The federal and state governments will therefore continue to take every effort to vaccinate as many citizens as possible as quickly as possible.
Against this background, the Federal Chancellor and the heads of the state governments agree on the following:
1- The existing decisions of the Federal Chancellor and the heads of the state governments will remain in effect, unless the contents of this decision are worded differently. The states will adapt their state regulations accordingly and extend them until 7 March 2021.
2- It remains particularly important to reduce the number of contacts and to comply with the Corona rules in order to curb the spread of the virus:
a. The Federal Chancellor and the heads of the state governments are urging all citizens to limit all contacts to the absolute necessary minimum in the coming weeks and, in particular, to avoid indoor meetings. Private meetings are still only permitted in the circle of the members of one’s own household and with one person from another household. It contributes significantly to the reduction of the risk of infection if the number of households from which the other persons come is kept as constant and as small as possible ("social bubble").
b. Medical masks (i.e. so-called surgical masks or protective masks according to the standard FFP2 or comparable) have a higher protective effect than ‘everyday’ masks. Therefore, there is an obligation to wear medical masks on public transport and in stores. In general, the use of medical masks is recommended indoors.
c. In all institutions and establishments, hygiene concepts must be consistently implemented and adapted against the background of new findings, for example with regard to virus mutations.
d. Unnecessary private travel and visits, including visiting relatives, must continue to be omitted. This applies within Germany and for national day-tourist excursions.
3- In view of the pandemic situation, further reduction of contacts in the workplace is necessary. In this respect, employers must enable employees to work in the home office, provided that their work permits it. This reduces contacts at the work place, but also on the way to and from work. The Federal Chancellor and the heads of the state governments call on employers to apply the SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance consistently and to implement them through generous home office solutions with greatly reduced staff present in the offices, or to keep their offices completely closed. Employees are asked to take advantage of this offer. Wherever home office is not possible, medical masks should be worn whenever several people are in a room together.
4- Children and adolescents, like their parents, are particularly affected by the restrictions. In order to ensure the education and the future of our children and young people, re-opening childcare and education facilities are therefore a priority. This area is therefore the first to be reopened again gradually. Masks, ventilation and hygiene measures will continue to be necessary. Wherever possible, medical masks should be used. Rapid tests are also intended to enable safe teaching in schools and the safe care and education in day care centers to minimize the risk of infection. In view of the high social importance of education and care for children, adolescents and their parents, and in view of the difficulty of implementing distance rules in the day-to-day work of daycare centers and elementary schools, the Federal Government and the state governments ask the Federal Minister of Health, in consultation with the CMK, to examine whether, in the next update of the Coronavirus Vaccination Ordinance, employees in childcare as well as elementary school teachers can be vaccinated in category 2 - earlier than previously planned. The states decide individually, within the framework of their cultural sovereignty, on the gradual return to classroom education and the expansion of the provision of day care for children. At the same time, they will increase their efforts to promote the digitization of learning in order to accompany divisional education and the gradual return to normal. The Federal Government supports this through the School Digital Pact, including the emergency programs for digital technology for students and teachers.
5- Hairdressers can resume operations starting 1 March 2021, subject to hygiene requirements, access control, access only with a scheduled appointment and the use of medical masks. Given the importance of hairdressers for physical hygiene and the closure that has been in place for some time now, it seems necessary to bring this service back, because significant sections of the population, especially the elderly, depend on them.
6- Looking at today’s background of uncertainty regarding the spread of virus mutations, the next opening step can take place once a steady 7-day incidence of no more than 35 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in a state is reached. This next opening step will include the opening of the retail trade with a limit of one customer per 20 sqm, the opening of museums and galleries and the opening of the still closed hygiene service facilities. Joint arrangements should be taken between neighboring states with higher incidences in order to avoid, as far as possible, cross-border use of open offers. In order to give citizens and businesses planning perspectives, the federal and state governments continue to work on developing the next steps of the safe and fair opening strategy with regard to contact restrictions in culture, sports in groups, leisure activities, gastronomy and the hotel industry, so that our lives can become normal again. This is prepared by the working group at the level of the head of the Federal Chancellery and the heads of the individual state and senate chancelleries.
7- States or counties that are unable to reduce their 7-day incidence rate below 50 will maintain or extend extensive further local or regional measures under the Infection Protection Act in order to achieve a corresponding reduction in the number of infections.
8- The Federal Government continues to assume the organizational and financial responsibility for the joint procurement of the vaccines and the states create the necessary structures for the implementation of vaccinations on the ground.
During the joint vaccination summit on 1 February 2021, the Federal Government and the state governments agreed to update the National Vaccination Strategy, which the Federal Minister of Health is carrying out in consultation with the health ministers of the German states. It will include a national vaccination plan which, on the basis of the information available, will model the further course of the vaccination campaign for the coming weeks and months, thereby creating better predictability for the utilization of vaccination capacity.
In an ongoing dialogue with manufacturers, the Federal Government will continue to work towards the long-term planning of delivery dates and will continue to communicate any delays in vaccine deliveries directly to the German states in order to further enable the most effective scheduling in the vaccination centers. This is particularly important in view of the second vaccination dose.
9- The Federal Government and the state governments are sticking to the goal that all citizens should be offered vaccination by the end of the summer at the latest. This is achievable according to the current approval data and delivery volume promised by the manufacturers. The Federal Government and the state governments will take all appropriate organizational measures. The aim is to ensure a sufficient level of protection before the fall.
10- It is to be expected that the residents and nursing staff of senior citizens’ and nursing homes will soon have received a second vaccination dose. At the same time, the Federal Government, the state governments and the municipalities, as well as the social institutions, have made a joint effort to promote the implementation of rapid tests in the care facilities for the elderly and as well as the institutions of integration assistance. Against this background, the Federal Chancellor and the heads of the state governments are asking the Conference of Health Ministers to make recommendations in a timely manner as to the time interval for the second vaccination dose and with which test concept the visitation rules for the institutions can be extended safely again. The support for the testing of the facilities by the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) will continue until Easter wherever no civilian forces can be found via the Federal Employment Agency to continue the work, if necessary.
11- In the last three months, millions of PCR antigen rapid tests have been made available for use by trained persons in addition to the further development of PCR laboratory capacities to up to two million tests per week; it is estimated that 15-35 million rapid tests were carried out in Germany in January 2021. Since the availability of such PoC-antigen rapid tests started at the end of October, the federal test ordinance has been amended so that the costs for preventive testing in the health care system are covered extensively by the Federal Government.
The German Chancellor and the heads of the state government see rapid tests for self-application as another suitable means of increasing test capacities in Germany. The Federal Minister of Health has created the legal basis for the distribution of such tests in Germany by decree. As soon as manufacturers of self-tests, which are intended for use without prior training, apply for approval, the Federal Government will quickly examine the application and will approve them is they meet the requirements. It is important to demonstrate sufficient quality; because too many false-negative test results in the self-test can have fatal consequences.
12- In order to support the companies and businesses that had to close due to the lockdown, the federal and state governments have agreed on extensive support measures. Since the end of November, more than EUR 5 billion have already been disbursed to the affected companies and businesses (November and December assistance). Starting today, the application for bridging aid III is possible, so that in the next few days the payment begins with generous advance payments (up to 100,000 euros per month, maximum 400,000 euros in the automated procedure for four months). In discussions with the EU, the German government has also succeeded in more than doubling the EU aid framework for Corona-related damage. Cultural businesses are particularly affected by the pandemic, which is why the Federal Government has endowed the rescue and future program "Restarting Culture" with a further EUR 1 billion, which is also to be paid quickly.
13- The Federal Government has developed digital tools to further support health departments in their tasks. In particular, the widespread use of SORMAS (Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System) is required for better management of contact persons and contact chains. The German states will ensure that all health departments will use SORMAS and DEMIS in the future. The Federal Government will provide the necessary technological resources. SORMAS is to be installed in all health offices by the end of February. The Federal Government will also provide SORMAS-X and SORMAS-eXtra Layer interfaces.
14- Citizens are asked to cooperate reliably with health authorities in the event of infection. The health authorities can only interrupt the infection chains if all contact persons are given to them, so that quarantine and testing can take place immediately. This is an essential basis for the stabilization of the number of new infections and thus also for an ease of measures.
15- The ongoing pandemic situation will continue to place a heavy burden on hospitals and will partially suspend refinancing through planned operations and treatments. As stated in the Decision of the Federal Chancellor with the heads of the state government from 25 November 2020, the Federal Ministry of Health has taken into account the economic protection of hospitals that provide intensive care capacities for the treatment of COVID-19 patients and has already twice extended the compensation payments for hospitals by means of corresponding regulations. More than two billion euros have already been paid out from the federal budget to the German states for transmission to the respective hospitals. The Federal Ministry of Health will continue to monitor developments on a regular basis together with the advisory board formed in accordance with Section 24 of the KHG and the Health Ministers of the German states, and, if necessary, make further adjustments. The federal and state governments will continue to work on this issue and will return to it in their next meeting.
16- The Federal Chancellor and the heads of the state government will be discussed again on 3 March 2021 in the light of the further infection developments.
Protocol addition from the state of Thüringen:
The state of Thüringen stresses the importance of a pandemic management strategy to be developed by the German states and the Federal Government and expects this strategy to contain clear and transparent perspectives for all areas of society. Both for an improvement of the infection, but also in case of deterioration.
The work on this strategy, agreed upon with the Federal Chancellor on 19 January 2021 in the meeting of the heads of the state governments with the Federal Chancellor, must now take place without delay, taking into account the proposals put forward by the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Niedersachsen and Thüringen, among others, and must be completed in good time before the next meeting of the heads of the state governments with the Federal Chancellor.
Source: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/videoschaltkonferenz-der-bundeskanzlerin-mit-den-regierungschefinnen-und-regierungschefs-der-laender-am-10-februar-2021-1852824
| Date Taken: | 02.11.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2021 02:11 |
| Story ID: | 388847 |
| Location: | WIESBADEN, HESSEN, DE |
| Web Views: | 77 |
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