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EASTER

State by state: These are Germany’s coronavirus rules over Easter

Many of Germany's 16 states are imposing stricter measures over the Easter holidays. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 30 March 2021 21:32 CEST
Updated: 2 April 2021 12:44 CEST
State by state: These are Germany's coronavirus rules over Easter
Easter eggs hung from a tree in Hanover on Tuesday. Photo: DPA

Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly overturned a strict nationwide lockdown which was put in place over the Easter long weekend, stretching from Thursday April 1st until Monday April 5th.

Yet in light of rising coronavirus figures, most German states have implemented their own measures over the holiday weekend. Here’s a look at what they’re planning. 

READ ALSO: What prompted Merkel to make a sudden U-turn on Easter shutdown in Germany?

Baden-Württemberg: Curfew restrictions between 9pm and 5am are to apply in regions with a 7-day incidence of 100 new infections per 100,000 residents.

Over the holidays, five people from two households are still allowed to meet, not counting children under 14-years old.

Bavaria: Strict contact rules are to apply over Easter, and use is to be made of a ‘Notbremse’ (emergency brake): If the 7-day incidence in a district rises above 100 new infections per 100,000 residents, meetings are to be allowed only between a household and one other person. A curfew will then also apply from 10pm until 5am the following day.

Berlin: Nothing is to change in the current contact restrictions. Even over Easter, meetings with five people from two households are allowed, plus children under 14-years old. However, starting after the Easter holidays, on April 6th, the capital will introduce a nighttime curfew from 9 pm on 5 am, except for essential reasons.

Shopping will be possible on days which aren’t officially public holidays, Thursday and Saturday, but a negative coronavirus test is required for shopping in retail stores, according to new state rules which go into effect on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How Berlin’s new coronavirus rules affect you

Brandenburg: From the Thursday before Easter to the Tuesday after Easter, a curfew from 10pm to 5am is to apply throughout the whole state. In the districts and independent cities that have 100 new infections per 100,000 residents within a week, a household may only meet with one other person.

Bremen: The 7-day incidence is currently above 100 in the Hanseatic city-state. Shopping with an appointment has been suspended since Monday. In Bremerhaven, a curfew applies from 9 pm until 5 am, a measure in effect until at least April 19th.

Hamburg: Meetings are allowed with a maximum of one person from another household. According to the State Senate, however, this only applies where the minimum distance cannot be maintained. Starting Friday, this applies between 9pm and 5am, and is set to last until at least April 18th.

READ ALSO: Hamburg moves back into hard shutdown as third coronavirus wave gains momentum

         People with face masks walking on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn in early March. Photo: DPA

Hesse: Over Easter, meetings with a maximum of five people from one’s own household and one other household are allowed; children under 14 do not count. Retail shopping can only be done with an appointment made in advance. For districts with a 7-day incidence over 100, a curfew applies between 9 pm and 5 am.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: In regions with a 7-day incidence of more than 100, nighttime curfew restrictions from 9pm to 6am are possible, but this is up to the district to decide. So far only one district has implemented the measure: Lundwigslust-Parchim, which had a 7-day incidence of 176 as of Thursday.

Current contact restrictions will remain in place: Two households with a total of five people are allowed to meet.

Lower Saxony: Members of a household may meet with no more than two people from another household, excluding children under 14. If the incidence is over 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days, members of a household may only meet with one other person. Children up to six years of age do not count.

If the 7-day incidence is 150 or more, a curfew between 9pm and 6am will be put in place. The exception is Hanover, where the curfew will begin at 10pm.

North Rhine-Westphalia: From ‘Maundy Thursday’ to Easter Monday, five people from two households are allowed to meet statewide, regardless of the local incidence of infection, the state’s Corona Protection Ordinance states. Children 14 and younger are not counted. 

In municipalities with a 7-day incidence above 100, people from one household are only allowed to meet with one other person in public spaces. Stores remain open in many places, but shoppers must present a negative rapid test.

Rhineland-Palatinate: Here, too, meetings of two households with a total of five people are still permitted. In municipalities with a 7-day incidence of less than 100, outdoor restaurants are also allowed to open. A negative rapid test and reservation are prerequisites for the visit.

However, there is a curfew from 9pm to 5am in districts with where there has been a 7-day incidence of more than 100 over three days. Exceptions are made for those going to Easter church services, although in some communities they need special approval.

Saarland: Meetings of a total of five persons from a maximum of two households are also permitted.

Saxony: In some districts where the 7-day incidence is over 100, stricter contact restrictions apply: Meetings are permitted for members of one household with one other person. Otherwise, the usual restrictions apply; children up to 15 are not counted.

Saxony-Anhalt: Tighter contact restrictions are also already in place in regions with high Covid-19 infection rates: As of Tuesday, in many districts, meetings are only permitted with one person who is not from one’s own household.

Schleswig-Holstein: Meetings are generally permitted with up to five people from two households. If the 7-day incidence exceeds 100, a household may only meet with one other person. Shopping is allowed with restrictions.

Thuringia: Despite having the highest seven-day incidence nationwide, Thuringia plans to briefly relax its previously strict contact restrictions over the Easter holidays. 

In the period from Good Friday to Easter Monday, two households and a maximum of five people are to be allowed to meet, according to an initial draft of the planned new Corona ordinance.

READ ALSO: Germany’s coronavirus incidence rate more than doubles in four weeks

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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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