Traffic light parties tighten planned corona measures

SPD candidate for chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that the traffic light parties want to take all the necessary decisions against the worsening of the corona situation in Germany. "We will continue to consult well today, that is, I think, in a very constructive way, and otherwise, of course, contribute in parallel to make all the necessary decisions so that we keep the infection situation well under control and also make the right decisions on this in the Bundestag this week," Scholz said Monday before the continuation of coalition negotiations between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP in Berlin. On Thursday, the traffic light partners want to pass amendments to the Infection Protection Act in parliament.

After much criticism of the three parties' plan to let the government's epidemic situation and related special powers expire on November 25, the possible coalition partners agreed on tightening measures over the weekend. Among other things, the possibility of contact restrictions is not to be abolished after all. This emerges from an agreement of representatives of the three traffic light factions. In addition, unvaccinated people will no longer be allowed to use buses and trains without a negative test - irrespective of the mask requirement that will continue to apply.

Dirk Wiese, deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, spoke on the ZDF morning show of "considerable restrictions for the unvaccinated, which we also believe are right." "We will allow the states to launch 2 G plus, 2 G, and 3 G measures depending on the incidence of infection. To this will ultimately come contact restrictions especially for the unvaccinated and 3 G ultimately in the workplace," Wiese continued. "This is in effect a lockdown for the unvaccinated that is being set in motion here." Green Party leader Robert Habeck had previously explained on ARD: "Contact prohibition or 2-G regulation means in large parts: Lockdown for the unvaccinated. That is the vulgar translation."

Berlin's SPD state leader Franziska Giffey is calling for a right for employers to provide information about their employees' vaccination status in light of 3G in the workplace. "Every restaurant you go to asks you for proof of vaccination. And employers have not been allowed to do that. That has to change," Giffey told RBB-Inforadio in Berlin on Monday. There must be a clearly defined right to information for employers at the federal level, she said.

Giffey spoke of a "weak point". If the employment issue is not clear in the labor market, this is a very large part of public life with a risk of contagion, she said. There are clear controls in schools and institutions, she said, and that "must also be implemented in working life." That's the only way employers can implement protective measures, Giffey said. Giffey, on the other hand, rejects a lockdown for the unvaccinated. That point has not yet been reached, she said.

In Berlin and Brandenburg, stricter Corona rules have been in effect since this Monday. In restaurants, theaters, cinemas, or swimming pools, only vaccinated and recovered persons have access. The extension of the 2-G rule is unavoidable, says the Berlin SPD leader.

SPD, Greens, and FDP want to continue to phase out the Corona special status. However, the federal states are to be given an opening clause: By resolution of their respective state parliaments, they are to be able to retain certain measures. For example, they should be able to prohibit or restrict recreational, cultural, and sporting events and gatherings, ban entry to healthcare facilities, prohibit the sale and public consumption of alcohol, and close universities.

In the future, exit and travel restrictions will no longer be possible. It will also no longer be possible to impose blanket restrictions on or close restaurants, hotels, and retail outlets.