Courtesy Translation: Videoconference of the German Federal Chancellor with the heads of the German state governments on 22 March 2021 as of March 24, 2021

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WIESBADEN, HE, GERMANY

03.26.2021

Story by Nadine Bower 

U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden   

Press Release from the Federal German Government from 25 MAR 2021
Courtesy Translation: Nadine Bower and Alper Koemuer, Public Affairs USAG Wiesbaden

Videoconference of the German Federal Chancellor with the heads of the German state governments on 22 March 2021 as of March 24, 2021

DECISION

Press release 94

Thursday, 25 March 2021

Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (BPA)
The German Federal Chancellor and the heads of governments of the German states take the following decision:

The Chancellor and the heads of the German state governments thank the citizens for their solidarity in the fight against the pandemic with the currently required restrictions. After clearly visible successes in curbing the infection in January and February, the current development – especially due to the rapid spread of Covid-19 variant B.1.1.7 – again shows a strong infection development and an exponential dynamic.
This means that without measures limiting the increase in new infections, the health system is likely to be overburdened as early as April. Even though a major part of the elderly population has already been vaccinated, according to current scientific evidence, the significantly higher mortality rate of the now in Germany dominant mutation B.1.1.7, and the fact that younger patients generally stay in the intensive care units longer, contributes to the fact that, in the current situation, the critical stress limit on the health system is no longer reached at the same incidence as before, but with exponential growth is not reached much later than before.

On the basis of the planned supply of vaccines, the federal and state governments have set the goal of offering every citizen a vaccination by the summer. With the increasing availability of vaccines, the vaccination process will become more dynamic from week to week. With the increasing vaccination of the population, the pandemic will lose its threat, because the more people are vaccinated, the less the virus can spread. The proportion of the vaccinated population has a positive effect on the reduction of the reproduction value (R-value) and on the question whether the number of new infections can be stabilized or reduced. At a high R-value, the stabilization of the infection development by the vaccination rate begins later. In the case of high numbers of new infections, openings must be paused in addition to stabilizing the infection situation until the numbers are lowered. Strict containment of the infection situation in the coming weeks will therefore lead to an earlier return to normality and to shorter restrictions overall. It is therefore necessary for health, economic and social reasons.

Future opening steps will depend to a large extent on the consistent testing of citizens. Quick tests and self-tests can provide additional safety for daily personal contacts. Regular testing can help to detect infections without symptoms of the disease. Infected people can be quarantined more quickly and their contacts can be traced better better. The more citizens consistently participate in the test program, the greater the effect. The aim is to significantly expand the testing capacities within the framework of the test program and to improve the traceability of contacts in the case of infection. For the test strategy to work, sufficient tests must be available. The test strategy has three pillars: in the first pillar, the students as well as the staff in the schools are tested. The second pillar includes free tests for citizens and the third pillar are the tests for employees in companies where the presence of employees is required. The Federal and state governments point out again that a positive quick or self-test requires immediate isolation and a mandatory PCR test to confirm the result. Such a PCR test can be performed free of charge.
In view of this situation, consistent measures are needed. In particular, indoor contacts must be avoided as far as possible due to the increased risk of infection there, or must be combined with comprehensive protective measures such as the mandatory wearing of masks with a high protective effect and the use of quick tests. In order to limit the spread of infections from regions with higher incidences to regions with lower incidences as far as possible, movement must also be further restricted and reduced to what is absolutely necessary. The Federal Chancellor and the heads of the German state governments are urging all citizens to limit all contacts to the absolutely necessary minimum in the coming weeks and, in particular, to avoid indoor meetings.

Accordingly, the Federal Chancellor and the heads of the German state governments agree:

1. The existing decisions of the Federal Chancellor and the heads of the German state governments shall remain valid, unless this decision says otherwise. The federal states will adapt their state regulations accordingly with effect from 29 March 2021 on and will extend them until 18 April 2021.

2. In the light of the exponentially increasing infection dynamics, the emergency brake agreed upon in the last decision for all incidence-dependent opening steps ("If the 7-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants rises to more than 100 on three consecutive days in the state or region, the rules that have applied until 7 March will be put in place on the second working day after that) will be consistently implemented again.
For the agreed opening steps, it was decided that a stable or decreasing 7-day incidence of less than 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants would have to be achieved in the respective state or region. Additional openings with exponential growth of the new infection numbers are therefore also ruled out below this incidence threshold.

3. In view of the significantly exponential growth, additional measures must also be taken to ensure that the number of new infections reliably decreases again. This is why more far-reaching steps will be implemented in states with a 7-day incidence of more than 100.
These may include in particular:

a) the obligation to wear medical masks for passengers, even in private vehicles, if they do not belong to the driver's household;

b) more extensive obligation to make daily quick tests a requirement in areas where compliance with distance rules and wearing masks are difficult.

c) curfews;

d) tighter contact restrictions.

4. [Deleted] Note: The Federal Chancellor informed the heads of the German state governments on Mar. 24, 2021 that paragraph 4 of the decision will not be implemented by the Federal Government.

5. After Easter, extensive testing will play an even more crucial role in combating the pandemic. Since 8 March 2021, the federal government has covered the costs of at least one free quick-test per week (citizens' test). Since then, the federal states and municipalities have been able to build up a comprehensive infrastructure for this testing offer in cooperation with many different local partners (e.g. municipal test centers, doctors, pharmacists, retailers, aid organizations, etc.). The task force for testing logistics has ensured that all federal states are adequately supplied with quick and self-testing for the months of March and April through procurements that have already been made and are still ongoing. The task force for testing logistics will continue to work with manufacturers to ensure that sufficient quick tests are available after Easter to implement the test strategy.
The Robert Koch Institute is asked to submit a report before the next conference of the Federal Chancellor with the heads of the German state governments on whether or at what point vaccinated persons are not infectious with sufficient certainty that inclusion in test concepts may become obsolete.

The German states, with increasing availability of quick and self-tests, tests are being introduced in schools and daycare centers. With the earlier vaccination of daycare workers as well as elementary school teachers, an important additional building block in the protection measures will be achieved. The testing of employees in the education sector and of students will be further expanded, and two tests per week will be offered as soon as possible. Additionally, employees in the daycare sector will be tested twice a week with appropriate procedures as soon as possible. This measure will, on one hand, improve infection protection in schools and daycare centers and, on the other hand, support the detection and interruption of infection chains in the general population.

6. In temporary model projects, German states in some selected regions can open up individual areas of public life with strict safeguards and a test concept, to investigate the practicability of opening steps using a consistent testing strategy. Key requirements are complete negative test results as a requirement for access to certain areas, IT-supported processes for contact tracking and, if necessary, also for test detection, spatial delimitation at the municipal level, feedback to the public health department and clear termination criteria in the event of failure.

7. For comprehensive infection protection, it is particularly important in the current phase of the pandemic that businesses and corporations in Germany, as a contribution to the fight against the pandemic as a whole, reduce epidemiologically relevant contacts at work and on the way to work and, where this is not possible, offer regular test to their in-person employees. This relies on the voluntary commitment of the business associations to the test offers for the employees as well as the SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Safety and Health Regulation. In light of the increasing number of infections, a rapid implementation of the test offers in all companies, businesses and organizations in Germany is necessary. The tests should be offered to employees if they do not telework at least once a week, and with appropriate availability even twice a week, and should be certified. In the beginning of April, business associations will present a first implementation report on how many companies are participating. On this basis of their own monitoring, the Federal Government will assess whether there is a need for regulatory action in the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation.

8. For companies which have been severely affected by closures and for a very long time in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government will develop an aid instrument within the framework of the European legislation.

9. The Federal Government and the state governments continue to urge all citizens to refrain from traveling domestically and abroad, when it is not absolutely necessary – also with regard to the upcoming Easter days. They stress that entry from foreign risk areas is subject to the obligation to register in the digital entry declaration and that there is a quarantine requirement for a period of 10 days after return. Early termination of the quarantine is only possible with a negative test, which was taken at the earliest on the 5th day after entry. This does not apply for return trips from virus-variant-regions since 8 March due to the longer contagion period caused by virus variants, which has now been described in many cases. Here, a quarantine of 14 days must be observed in these cases. In addition, limited transportation options are to be expected when returning from virus-variant-regions.

The emergence of various COVID-19 variants and their worldwide distribution have shown that cross-border travel must continue to be limited to an absolute necessary minimum. As vacationers from many countries meet during journeys and COVID-19 variants can easily spread, especially for popular travel destinations, the federal and state governments expect consistent tests of crews and passengers from all airlines before the return flight and no further additional flights offered during the Easter break. The Federal Government will present an amendment to the Infection Protection Act, which provides for a general pre-departure test requirement for flights to Germany in view of the global pandemic.

10. The financial situation of hospitals will be stabilized in the long term by federal aid payments. With the planned corona-related compensation for the revenue of the year 2021, the expansion of eligible hospitals for compensation by lowering the 7-day incidence, and the extension of the reduced payment period for hospital bills by the health insurance funds, the Federal Government is making a significant contribution to the economic protection of hospitals in the pandemic. In addition, hospitals with corona-related liquidity problems, which have not received any compensation despite a decline in occupancy in 2021, should be able to receive timely support in anticipation of the corona-related compensation for the revenue to be carried out after the end of the calendar year for the year 2021. The implementation of this regulation is carried out in the context of the current legal regulation procedure.

11. In implementing the vaccination strategy, priority has been given to the vaccination of residents and staff of nursing homes. This is an important contribution to reducing severe and fatal cases and is already showing successes. This success is linked to the expectation of a normalization of the tense situation for all. This expectation continues to be confronted with uncertainty as to the extent to which vaccination excludes potential infectivity of vaccinated people until appropriate scientific clarification and recommendation by the Robert Koch Institute. That is why the Chancellor and the heads of the German state governments have asked the Conference of the Health Secretaries to make recommendations on this. After that, it is necessary to continue to implement hygiene and test concepts consistently. Two weeks after the second vaccination, the visiting possibilities in institutions without outbreaks can be expanded again and cross-residential group offers can be carried out again. There will be no differentiation between vaccinated and unvaccinated residents in the measures. The facilities are required to help unvaccinated new residents quickly to get a vaccination. Against this background, the Federal Government's offer of support for testing, including the Bundeswehr, will continue to be maintained.

12. The Chancellor and the heads of government of the states will discuss again on 12 April 2021.

Source: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/videokonferenz-der-bundeskanzlerin-mit-den-regierungschefinnen-und-regierungschefs-der-laender-am-22-maerz-2021-1880086

• Date Taken: 03.26.2021
• Date Posted: 03.26.2021 05:07
• Story ID: 392326
• Location: WIESBADEN, HE, DE