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VACCINATIONS

Germany to allow more freedom for Covid-vaccinated people from Sunday

Germany has passed new measures that will see people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and those who've recovered from the virus, no longer have to abide by curfews, as well as quarantine and contact rules.

Germany to allow more freedom for Covid-vaccinated people from Sunday
A person receiving documents after being vaccinated in Stuttgart. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Weissbrod

They will also be allowed access to shops and other facilities without first providing a negative test result as is currently required of the rest of the population.

On Thursday the grand coalition – made up of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU plus the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Left voted in favour of the regulation. 

The pro-business FDP abstained, while the far-right AfD voted against it.

The law was approved by the Bundesrat, which represents the 16 states, on Friday. It will come into force from Sunday, the German government clarified on its website.

It was originally reported that it would come into force Saturday.

READ ALSO: ‘Closer to normality’: Germany takes step to ease Covid rules for vaccinated people

What does it mean?

Under national measures introduced in April, areas with an incidence rate of more than 100 new infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days must introduce overnight curfews and people can only meet with one other person from another household during the day.

Areas with lower incidence rates are however allowed to open shops, restaurants, cinemas and other facilities to anyone who can provide a negative test.

– The new regulation will put vaccinated people and those who have recovered from Covid-19 (if the infection occurred no more than six months ago) on an equal footing with those who’ve tested negatively for the virus. So these groups will not need to show a negative test to visit the hairdresser, museum or the zoo, for example, but will instead be asked to present a full vaccination certificate. 

IN DETAIL: These are Germany’s planned new freedoms for vaccinated people and Covid survivors

– When the law comes into force, it also means people with immunity will be able to meet in unlimited numbers – so they won’t face the tougher contact restrictions.

– They also won’t have to adhere to curfews.

– After contact with someone infected with coronavirus, vaccinated people and those who have recovered will no longer have to go into quarantine.

– They also won’t have to self-isolate after travel unless they are coming from a country that has been designated a high-risk area.

– However, general safety rules such as mandatory masks and keeping a distance will still apply to people with immunity.

Some German states have already started easing some rules for people with immunity.

Angela Merkel casting her vote in the Bundestag on Thursday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

‘Important step’

In the debate in the Bundestag before the vote on Thursday, Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) said: “This is an important step.”

Lambrecht said it will mean that people in nursing homes will be able to socialise again, among other things.

At the same time, the Lambrecht stressed that Germany still had to continue fighting the pandemic. 

“We must all work together at full speed to ensure that these steps towards normality do not only apply to those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, but that we all work to regain this longed-for normality,” she said.

READ ALSO:

Law ‘doesn’t go far enough’

The FDP, however, said the law doesn’t go far enough. The party welcomes the return of freedom, said Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus, health policy spokesperson of the FDP. “But rights and freedoms only exist as a whole,” she said.

She said it was incomprehensible that essential restrictions on freedom should continue to apply to vaccinated people in hotels, leisure facilities or cultural venues, for example. These facilities have largely been closed since November.

“There is no apparent reason why vaccinated people and people who’ve recovered cannot play team sports together, for example, or why a restaurateur cannot open his indoor premises to vaccinated people,” said Aschenberg-Dugnus.

About 31.5 percent of the population had received at least one jab up to May 6th, and 8.8 percent had been fully inoculated – meaning just under 10 percent of people are currently eligible for increased freedoms, not including those who have recovered from the virus.

READ ALSO: Germany reaches milestone of 30 percent of population vaccinated against Covid

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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?

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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