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Berlin plans to ban the unvaccinated from restaurants, bars and culture

The city government in Germany’s capital has decided to bring in '2G rules' that will bar unvaccinated people from gastronomy and other indoor areas of public life, according to media reports.

Published: 9 November 2021 09:44 CET

Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller.

Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller. Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa

The plans were drawn up at a meeting of the city senate on Monday night after Berlin has seen new cases of infection with coronavirus double in the past three weeks.

“2G is being prepared,” city health senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) confirmed to the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

According to broadcaster RBB, the senate is planning to bring in rules requiring establishments in the gastronomy sector and cultural venues to only allow entry to the vaccinated (geimpft) and those who have recovered (genesen).

The rules will not apply to public transport, supermarkets or other shops necessary for daily life.

The city is reportedly also considering bringing in 2G-plus, a rule that will require vaccinated and recovered people to also provide a negative test. This is only likely to be brought in if cases continue to rise.

Berlin currently gives venues the option of whether to enforce 2G or the more broad 3G, which allows unvaccinated people with a negative test to enter. Venues with 2G rules do not have to enforce mask wearing rules.

The 7-day incidence of infections in Berlin currently stands at 195 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In the districts of Neukölln, Mitte and Spandau the 7-day incidence is over 200.

According to the senate, over 11 percent of the city intensive care capacity is currently taken up by Covid patients.

READ MORE: Germany eyes tougher Covid restrictions as infection rate soars

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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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