Courtesy Translation: Effects of the emergency brake in Wiesbaden

Courtesy Photo | Icon to accompany courtesy translations of press releases from the city of Wiesbaden.  

WIESBADEN, HE, GERMANY

04.24.2021

Story by Nadine Bower 

U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden   

Press Release from the city of Wiesbaden, 23 April 2021
Translation by Nadine Bower, USAG Wiesbaden Public Affairs Office

Effects of the "emergency brake" on Wiesbaden and opening of "Prio Group 3"

The federal "emergency brake" and the opening of the "Prio Group 3" of the Vaccination Ordinance by the Hessen state government have an impact on the state capital Wiesbaden: The emergency brake applies immediately without further municipal implementation. Opening of the "Prio Group 3": beneficiaries must register for vaccination via the state‘s appointment portal; Members of the volunteer fire brigades and civil protection can get vaccinated.

At a special meeting on Thursday, 22 April, the German Bundesrat approved the "Fourth Act for the Protection of the Population in an Epidemic Situation of National Importance". In record-breaking brevity, the federal president signed it in a matter of hours and published it. The new version of the Infection Protection Act came into force today and the measures of the "emergency brake" that it contains will apply for the first time in the affected areas starting tomorrow, Saturday. The duraction is limited to 30 June 2021.

The scope of the regulation is as follows: If the number of new infections with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 per 100,000 inhabitants exceeds the threshold of 100 within seven days on three consecutive days in a county or a county-free city, the federal regulations provided for in the "emergency brake" will apply immediately.

- Private meetings are limited to the members of one‘s household and a maximum of one other person, both in public and private spaces. Excluded are children under 14 years of age.
- Funeral services of up to 30 people are allowed in order to meet the need for an adequate framework.
- Curfews apply between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. However, staying outside the living space is permitted for example, to exercise a professional activity, to avert a danger to life, limb or property, to exercise the right of custody or access, to exercise one’s professional requirements or mandate, for reporting purposes by representatives of the press, radio, film and other media, to provide immediate care for persons or minors in need of assistance, to accompany the dying or to care for animals or to provide for similar indissociable purposes. An additional exception applies to evening walkers or joggers between 10 p.m. and midnight when they are travelling alone.
- In the case of a seven-day incidence above 100, it is also prohibited to open leisure facilities, museums, movie theaters, theatres and similar establishments, as well as restaurants, except drive-in theaters. On the other hand, the delivery of food and beverages and their sale for takeaway – but only outside the hours of the curfew restrictions – are still possible. Outdoor areas of zoological and botanical gardens can be visited by presenting a negative corona test result from the same day.
- The opening of shops and markets with customer traffic is prohibited in principle. Exclude are: food trade including direct marketing, beverage markets, health food stores, baby markets, pharmacies, medical centers, drugstores, opticians, hearing care workers, gas stations, newspaper sales outlets, bookshops, florists, animal supplies markets, feeding markets, garden markets and wholesalers. These are subject to further conditions (specifications for the area available per customer; mandatory masks of the FFP2 standard or comparable or medical face mask).
- In all other retail stores, if the seven day incidences is below 150, the "Federal Emergency Brake" allows for „Click and Meet“ with the presentation of a negative result of a test from the same day. In addition, the collection of pre-ordered goods in shops (Click & Collect) is still permitted.
- Further restrictions are in place for the exercise of sport and the use of physical services.
- Accommodation offers for tourist purposes are prohibited.

These rules shall expire if the 7-day incidence levels drop below 100 for five consecutive working days.

- Schools, vocational schools, universities, extracurricular adult education institutions and similar institutions must stop classroom teaching at an incidence of 165 or more. Exceptions may be made on the state side for final classes and support schools.
- Kitas, Hort and day care must switch to emergency care at an incidence of 165.
- Employees must work in home office if they can, unless there are reasons such as spatial tightness, disturbances by third parties or insufficient technical equipment. Employers must explain to the competent authority why home office is not possible if the authority so requests.
- It is also noted that contacts in the exercise of a professional activity, participation in strikes, the exercise of political mandates, voluntary activities or official appointments do not count as contacts in the context of private meetings.

In addition, the state government retains the right to issue more extensive legal regulations. It may also transfer the authorisation to 'other bodies'. It remains to be seen how the Hessen state government intends to use this right, which it has been granted in relation to the Hessen concept of escalation and prevention. This arrangement is still pending.

It can be expected that the state government will follow its previous course and that the district-free cities and counties will continue to have to adopt supplementary regulations by means of the general decree.

The Hessen Corona Cabinet will discuss the consequences of the "Federal Emergency Brake" for the Hessen Corona Regulations this afternoon. The extent to which the state government will make changes to the Current Hessen Corona Regulations is not yet known.

According to the RKI, the 7-day incidence in Wiesbaden is now 175, yesterday it was 148 and on 21 April it was 129 of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days. This means that the emergency brake will also apply in Wiesbaden from tomorrow on. The law enforcement authorities of the state capital will also enforce this.

"We continue to ask all Wiesbaden residents for their understanding and urge them to comply with the measures. Please join in and keep up. The Office of Public Order will monitor compliance and also imposes fines, but the Public Order officers cannot be everywhere at the same time. The observance of these duties shoud be a consideration for the fellow citizens of course," appeal Lord Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende and Mayor and Health Department Director Dr. Oliver Franz to the Wiesbadeners.

Since Friday 23 April, it has been possible for the citizens of the prioritisation group three to arrange a vaccination date. This weekend, the state capital Wiesbaden will vaccinate the members of the volunteer fire brigades and the civil protection. "We do not want a two-tier society of our forces. Whether professional or volunteer fire brigades, we need to protect our emergency services in the best possible way so that they can provide their service to the general public safely. But we also owe it to their families," Mende and Dr. Franz concluded.

Source: https://www.wiesbaden.de/medien/rathausnachrichten/PM_Zielseite.php?showpm=true&pmurl=https://www.wiesbaden.de/guiapplications/newsdesk/publications/Landeshauptstadt_Wiesbaden/141010100000401873.php

• Date Taken: 04.24.2021
• Date Posted: 04.24.2021 09:53
• Story ID: 394669
• Location: WIESBADEN, HE, DE