As announced yesterday, a further tightening of the coronavirus measures comes into force today (Wednesday 24 November 2021). The state government created the corresponding legal basis yesterday evening.
The state government provided information on the details of the regulation in a press release:
"The impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen: over 15,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country in the last week. For the first time, the state-wide seven-day incidence is above 600, and in the three southern districts of Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Elbe-Elster and Spree-Neiße it is even above the threshold value of 1,000. Hospitals, doctors' surgeries and health authorities are reaching their limits. Four of the five hospital care areas have a seven-day hospitalisation incidence above the national threshold value of 3, one of which is already above the value of 6. In order to slow down the rapid spread of the much more infectious delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, Brandenburg is significantly tightening the corona measures once again. The cabinet adopted the Second SARS-CoV-2 Containment Ordinance today [23 November 2021]. It will come into force tomorrow, Wednesday (24 November 2021) - at the same time as the new Federal Infection Protection Act - and will initially apply until the end of 15 December 2021.
The key points of the new Corona Ordinance are:
- 2G rule to be significantly expanded nationwide
- Contact restrictions for unvaccinated people are being tightened
- In hotspot regions, there is a night-time curfew for unvaccinated people
- Christmas holidays start three days earlier
- Ministry of Education can lift compulsory attendance [use will be made of the regulation and compulsory attendance will be lifted from 29 November 2021]
- Christmas markets have to be cancelled nationwide
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The most important measures at a glance
Contact restrictions in public spaces for unvaccinated persons: Spending time together in public spaces is only permitted with members of your own household, with members of your own household and those of another household or with up to five people in total. The same contact restrictions also apply to private parties and other gatherings with family, friends or acquaintances that take place in private homes and the associated pacified property or in public or rented rooms.
Important: Vaccinated and recovered people are not affected by these contact restrictions and are not counted when determining the number of people. This means that any number of vaccinated and recovered people can continue to meet. Children under the age of 12 are also not taken into account.
Other exceptions to these contact restrictions are The restriction on the number of households and persons does not apply to the exercise of custody or rights of access or the accompaniment of persons in need of support. In public spaces, there are also exceptions for accompanied outdoor activities with children and young people, in particular from primary schools, daycare centres, child daycare centres and child, youth and integration support facilities or as part of approved child and youth work or neighbourhood-organised childcare, the exercise of professional, official or voluntary activities serving the fulfilment of public law tasks where it is absolutely necessary for several people to meet.
The 2G rule is being extended. It is mandatory nationwide in these areas:
- Retail outlets (this does not apply to: Wholesalers, grocery shops and beverage markets, agricultural direct marketers of food, stalls at weekly markets, drugstores, pharmacies, medical supply stores, health food stores, specialist baby markets, opticians and hearing aid acousticians, dry cleaners and launderettes, pet supply stores and animal feed markets, DIY stores, nurseries, garden centres, garden centres and florists, Christmas tree sales outlets, bookshops, newspaper and magazine shops and post offices, tobacco shops, petrol stations and garages for bicycles and motor vehicles, pick-up and delivery services - Important: The general hygiene rules, mask requirement and distancing rules naturally apply there)
- Other facilities open to the public or accessible to the public as part of a visit or customer traffic (this does not apply to: Banks and savings banks, public libraries, courts and authorities, the holding of elections or votes in polling stations, the signing of petitions for referendums and meetings of electoral bodies on the occasion of elections, votes and referendums and citizens' petitions. Important: the general hygiene rules, mask requirement and social distancing rules naturally also apply here)
- Body-related services, including hairdressing services (this does not apply in the healthcare sector for the provision of medical, therapeutic or nursing services, including foot care that is not purely for cosmetic purposes)
- Sexual services
- Indoor and outdoor areas of catering establishments (this does not apply to: Restaurants that serve prepared food or drinks exclusively for take-away in the context of out-of-home sales and do not provide parking or seating, restaurants in the travelling trade, canteens and cafeterias, company canteens, service areas and car parks)
- Accommodation facilities such as hotels and youth hostels (note: the 3G rule applies to holiday flats and holiday homes, campsites, caravan sites and charter boats with overnight accommodation).
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- Coach tours, city tours, boat trips and comparable tourist offers
- Events with entertainment character
- Sports facilities (indoor and outdoor) including swimming pools (this does not apply to: Sports facilities, insofar as they are used exclusively for medically prescribed sport or sport for socio-therapeutic purposes, school operations and child day care as well as for teaching events in sports practice at universities, the training and competition operations of professional athletes, national league teams and competitive athletes of the national and state squads, which take place within the framework of a utilisation and hygiene concept of the respective sports association, the training, further education and training of lifeguards)
- Indoor playgrounds
- Memorials, museums, exhibition centres, galleries, planetariums, archives
- Amusement parks, zoos, game reserves, zoological and botanical gardens
- Theatres, concert halls and opera houses, cinemas (exception: drive-in cinemas, drive-in theatres and drive-in concerts)
- Trade fairs, exhibitions
- Gaming arcades, casinos and betting shops
- Fun and leisure pools, outdoor pools, saunas, spas and wellness centres
- Amateur artistic ensembles (rehearsals and performances in closed rooms)
In Brandenburg, the 2G rule basically means that only people who can prove that they have been fully immunised and have recovered, as well as children under the age of 12, are allowed to enter. The following also have access with a negative test certificate: young people under the age of 18 and people for whom no vaccination recommendation has been issued by the Standing Committee on Vaccination for health reasons and if they wear an FFP2 mask without an exhalation valve at all times (important: the health reasons must be proven on site with an original written medical certificate).
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The 2G Plus rule now applies to discos, clubs and similar establishments as well as festivals. This means that only vaccinated and recovered persons who can also present a negative test certificate will be admitted.
The holding of public festivals, special markets and annual markets, including Christmas markets, is prohibited throughout the state of Brandenburg from 24 November 2021 up to and including 15 December 2021.
The 3G rule is being tightened: the testing obligation now always applies regardless of the number of people (so there are no longer any exceptions to the testing obligation for open-air events with fewer than 1,000 guests). And there are now upper limits on the number of people: Events without an entertainment character are only permitted in the open air with up to 250 visitors and in closed rooms with up to 100 visitors present at the same time (the responsible health authority can authorise exceptions to this limit of up to 500 visitors attending at the same time in special individual cases on request).
In education and training institutions such as universities or driving schools, for example, participants are required to take a daily test (before the start of the first lesson or classroom-based course).
Pupils who can prove that they are not fully immunised or have recovered must be tested on at least three days per week as determined by the respective school. As before, a self-test carried out at home is sufficient for this. Furthermore, all pupils must wear a medical face mask in class.
The Ministry of Education may determine that pupils may be absent from face-to-face lessons for certain year groups, taking into account the infection situation.
Hotspot regions: In a district or an independent city in which
- the seven-day incidence exceeds the threshold value of 750 for three days without interruption and additionally
- the proportion of COVID-19 patients treated in intensive care units nationwide reaches the threshold value of at least ten per cent in relation to the intensive care treatment capacities actually available,
the competent authority must immediately publicise the exceedance and achievement in an appropriate manner. From the day after the announcement*, the following protective measures shall apply in this district or independent city, at the latest until the end of 15 December 2021:
1) Night-time curfew for unvaccinated persons: In the period from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day, staying in public spaces is only permitted in the following cases and in other comparably important exceptional cases:
- visits by spouses or partners and cohabiting partners,
- the exercise of custody or a statutory or court-ordered right of access,
- the accompaniment of people in need of support,
- the accompaniment and care of seriously ill children, the dying and people in acutely life-threatening conditions,
- the utilisation of medical, therapeutic and nursing services,
- the utilisation of veterinary services and the care and treatment of animals,
- the prevention of danger to life, limb and property,
- going to the place of work and carrying out professional, official or voluntary activities to fulfil public-law duties,
- participation in gatherings within the meaning of the Assembly Act, religious events, non-religious weddings and funerals,
- participation in events not prohibited under this Ordinance,
- the implementation of animal disease control measures and the practice of hunting by persons authorised and appointed to hunt
2) In addition, discos, clubs and similar establishments in hotspot regions must close to the public.
3.) Festivals are prohibited.
Exceptions: The night-time curfew does not apply to
- vaccinated persons,
- recovered persons,
- Persons for whom no vaccination recommendation has been issued by the Standing Committee on Vaccination for health reasons; the health reasons must be proven on site by a written original medical certificate.
Important: Vaccinated and recovered persons must be able to show their proof of vaccination or recovery in public areas at all times between 10 pm and 6 am.
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The mask requirement is being tightened up: A medical mask or FFP-2 mask must always be worn if it is not possible to comply with the social distancing requirement outside of private rooms in enclosed spaces (previously this was only a target requirement).
Clarification in the regulation for contact tracing: Contact tracing can also be carried out by providing the QR code registration via the Robert Koch Institute's well-known Corona-Warn-App.
Preventing falsified proof of vaccination: The new Corona Regulation clarifies that proof of vaccination and recovery must be presented to the EU as a digital COVID certificate in electronic or printed form. The yellow vaccination certificate alone is no longer sufficient! And: Upon entry, the proof must be checked and digitally verified by those responsible.
Indicators for assessing the coronavirus situation
The following indicators in particular are used to assess the state government's coronavirus protection measures:
- Nationwide seven-day hospitalisation incidence (number of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 disease within the last seven days per 100,000 inhabitants),
- Number of intensive care treatment capacitiesactually available nationwide and their utilisation,
- Seven-day incidence (number of new infections within the last seven days per 100,000 inhabitants),
- Nationwide vaccination rate (number of people vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus)
Following the decision taken by the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states on 18 November 2021, the nationwide threshold values for the nationwide seven-day hospitalisation incidence have changed. The thresholds 3, 6 and 9 now apply here.
As before, this well-known indicator must be used as a basis at municipal level in order to be able to react appropriately to regional and local infection rates as required by constitutional law.
The districts in the south of Brandenburg currently have the highest seven-day incidence rates: Oberspreewald-Lausitz (1,358.9), Elbe-Elster (1,324.6) and Spree-Neiße (1,018.5).
The lowest seven-day incidence rates in Brandenburg are currently in Potsdam (342.1), the district of Märkisch-Oderland (359.5) and the district of Barnim (381.1).
The data source for calculating the available intensive care treatment capacities is IVENA eHealth, where Brandenburg hospitals make daily entries. This indicator must be based on a nationwide view in order to establish a standardised spatial reference. New: With the new regulation, the proportion of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care is based on the number of intensive care beds that can actually be operated, and no longer on the number of theoretical maximum available ICU beds.
There are currently 744 ITS beds in operation across the country, 118 of which are occupied by COVID-19 patients (as of 23 November 2021, source: IVENA).
From Wednesday (24 November), the new Federal Infection Protection Act also regulates the following nationwide
- 3G rule at the workplace: Employers and employees must carry proof of vaccination and recovery or a current certificate of a negative corona test when entering the workplace. Employers must check whether employees fulfil this obligation and document these checks.
- Obligation to work from home: In the case of office work or comparable activities, the employer must offer employees the opportunity to carry out these activities at home if there are no compelling operational reasons to the contrary. The employees must accept this offer, provided there are no reasons to the contrary.
- 3G rule and mask requirement on local public transport, regional and long-distance trains and air transport
- Mandatory daily testing in sensitive facilities such as retirement and nursing homes and residential homes for people with disabilities for all employees and visitors (including those who have been vaccinated or have recovered). Vaccinated and recovered employees must also regularly show negative test results. These tests can also be carried out as a rapid antigen test for self-administration (under supervision). Vaccinated and recovered employees may also carry out rapid antigen tests for self-administration without supervision."