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What’s closing (and staying open) under new lockdown rules in Germany?

On Wednesday Germany entered a tougher lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus. That means several shops and services are closing - while others remain open.

Published: 16 December 2020 09:37 CET
Updated: 18 December 2020 18:53 CET
What's closing (and staying open) under new lockdown rules in Germany?
People passing through a shopping mall in Mainz on Monday before it closed. Photo: DPA

Here's look at what's staying open and closing until at least the end of the stricter lockdown measures on January 10th.

What will remain open?

Markets

It’s still possible to shop at supermarkets and grocery stores, as well as health food stores (Reformhäuser) and stores which sell wholesale products (Großhandel).

Specialty stores

Pick-up and delivery services, baby supply stores (Babyfachmärkte), pet supply stores, pharmacies, medical stores (Sanitätshäuser), feed markets, opticians, hearing aid acousticians (Hörgeräteakustiker) and drug stores will also keep their doors open over the holidays.

Places selling Christmas trees, for example in the parking lots of construction stores, can also remain open. 

READ ALSO: Job fears grow in Germany as coronavirus closes shops again

Daily services 

Customers can continue going to use post offices, banks and Sparkassen (savings banks), dry cleaning shops and laundrettes. 

Transportation related services

Petrol stations, car repair shops and bicycle repair shops will continue to offer their services.

A woman shopping for a Christmas tree in Dortmund on Monday. Christmas tree markets are allowed to remain open during the extended lockdown. Photo: DPA

What is closing?

Personal care treatments

Personal care services such as hairdressing salons, cosmetic studios, massage practices, tattoo studios and similar businesses must close. Up until this point hairdressers remained open, but other personal services had to close on November 2nd. 

However, medical treatments, for example physiotherapy, occupational therapy and logotherapy as well as podiatry/foot care will remain possible.

Retail

All shopping malls and retail stores are closing. Electronic chains, construction stores (Baumärkte) and book stores must largely also close – however, some states such as Berlin are making exceptions for book stores, as they also did in the spring partial lockdown.

Schools

Schools are closed as of today – or there is no longer a requirement to be present. Emergency care will be provided. The new rules are also to apply to kindergartens.

Some schools are offering online instruction during this time, but the rules vary widely state to state.

Continued closures (in place since partial lockdown started on November 2nd)

Restaurants, bars, and cafes will remain closed except for delivery and pick-up services.

Cultural institutions such as museums and opera houses also remain closed for the time being.

Leisure facilities, including gyms, stay closed, along with personal care services such as tattoo shops and beauty salons.

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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