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Germany: Change in pandemic legislation


The aim is for the restrictions to now apply mainly to the unvaccinated. The free tests are back. Stricter regulations are in place for employees.

The number of new cases of coronavirus and the positivity index have exceeded all previous limits. The Robert Koch State Epidemiological Institute recorded 50,196 new cases, while the positivity index, the average number of cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 inhabitants, rose to 249.1. On Thursday, a week ago, this index was at 154.4.

Logic of targeted measures

Despite the rapid increase in coronavirus cases, the “national epidemiological situation” that has been in force since March will end on November 25. The declaration of this state of emergency allowed, among other things, the imposition of a general lockdown, the closure of schools and shops. The parties that intend to form the next government, the Social Democrats, the Greens and, above all, the Liberals, estimate that once almost 70% of the population has been vaccinated, the restriction of fundamental individual rights can no longer be legally substantiated. Therefore, the courts would easily reject the imposition of restrictions that apply to everyone independently. For this reason, they submitted a draft with amendments to the law on epidemics, which was discussed today in first reading in parliament.

The logic of the bill is – measures to target the rights of those who are not vaccinated. For example, states and municipalities will have the right to enforce the 2G regulation, ie vaccination or recovery certificate, for access to venues such as theaters, cinemas, gyms. As far as workplaces are concerned, the 3G regulation will apply, ie employees must have either a coronavirus vaccination or recovery certificate, or a negative test on a daily basis. In institutions such as nursing homes, staff who have been vaccinated or have recovered from coronavirus should also undergo a molecular PCR test. The tests will again be free for everyone. The employer will also have the right to ask employees to be informed if they have been vaccinated or have recovered. Protection measures such as the use of a mask and the observance of the minimum safety distance remain in force

Panagiotis Kouparanis, Berlin

Source: Deutsche Welle

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Source From: Capital

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