End of the lockdown in one of the German states: The Federal state of Saarland becomes the first to declare an end to the lockdown today the 6th of April 2021. This is despite an increase in the number of infections. This decision comes in addition to the approval of outdoor catering, cinema, theatres and fitness studios being allowed to open too.
The decision has been met with a lot of criticism from other states, science and politics.
Outdoor activities are now allowed
A variety of activities can now take place like; outdoor restaurants, cinemas. theatres, concert halls, fitness studios an tennis halls. The only condition is that you require a valid negative rapid corona virus test, which must not be older than 24 hours. In addition, up to ten negative people can meet outdoors for activities such as drinking beer at an outdoor table.
Land Prime Minister Tobias Hans (43, CDU) said that the Saarland could be an exapmle of a moelfor other regions in the country.
“We have to think about more than just closures and restrictions,” said the politician. “We have developed a lockdown recovery model that guarantees fast and effective detection of infections according to the principle: the more tests are performed, the more infections will be quickly detected and blocked.”
Criticism of the decision taken by the state authorities
The fact that Saarland is starting to ease restrictions at a time when the number of infections there is rising has been criticised by politicians and academics across the country. Chancellor Angela Merkel described the decision of the state authorities as “very bold”
According to German media, on Easter Monday, the state body responsible for monitoring the development of the epidemic reported that the infection rate there is currently 91.3. Two weeks ago (March 23) the figure was 65.6. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the infection rate is 85.7.
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Saaraland is the smallest federal state of Germany (not counting the city-states). It is inhabited by less than a million inhabitants. The Land is the leader in Germany in terms of the number of Covid-19 tests and vaccinations against this disease. From Sunday, people were vaccinated around the clock at the Bundeswehr vaccination centre in Lebach. Numerous test stations have also been launched there over the past few weeks – there are now almost 400, said N-tv.com
For the deputy prime minister of Saarland, Anke Rehlinger, the model of exiting the lockdown there is a “clear and reliable system” based on the responsibility of citizens. “We are carefully providing more freedom. Whether it will be maintained depends on all of us, ”she said.
According to the plan by the local authorities, if all goes well, all restaurants and schools will be able to open after April 18. From April 19, all students would be able to study full-time, and exams would begin in secondary schools.
Source: N-TV.de