DECISION of the Federal Chancellor with the Heads of Government of the Federal States on August 10, 2021
After infection figures fell in the spring and were at a low level in the summer, they have been rising again in recent weeks.
How the infection figures develop essentially depends on how high the vaccination rate is in Germany. That is why the German Chancellor and the heads of government of the German states are calling for all citizens to be vaccinated as soon as possible. Enough vaccine is now in stock. The promise to offer every citizen a vaccination in the summer has now been fulfilled.
The fact that a very high vaccination rate is required is due in particular to the fact that the “delta” virus variant, which is now prevalent in Germany, is once again considerably more infectious than the previous virus variants. However, it is good that the vaccines are also highly effective against this variant. Those who are not vaccinated will foreseeably have to be tested regularly when they meet other people indoors in order to prevent the virus from spreading.
Against this background, the Federal Chancellor and Heads of Government of the Länder decide:
- the Federal Chancellor and the Heads of Government of the Länder
urgently appeal to the population in Germany, if they have not already done so, to take advantage of the existing vaccination offers against the SARS-CoV2 virus as quickly as possible. With the currently almost exclusively vaccinated mRNA vaccines, there is complete vaccination protection 2 weeks after the second vaccination. Those who want full vaccine protection in the fall need to begin vaccination now. The vaccines have performed well in both approval studies as well as in months of worldwide use by millions, the vaccines have proven to be very safe and effective against the delta variant currently prevalent in Germany. Low-threshold, target-group-specific and outreach services to facilitate access to vaccination. The federal and state governments call on employers in Germany to support their employees in taking up vaccination offers, in particular by informing employees, creating in-company vaccination services through company physicians, and releasing employees to take advantage of vaccination services. The vaccination resolutions of the Conference of Health Ministers of August 2 will be implemented.
- anyone who has been fully vaccinated protects themselves and others against from infection by the SARS-CoV2 virus and thus protect society from a new a new wave of the virus. A comparable immunity who has recovered from COVID19 disease. Vaccinated and recovered persons are therefore exempt from federal or state regulations that impose testing requirements. In addition, the RKI has revised its recommendations on the quarantine of contact persons to the effect that for asymptomatic close contacts who are asymptomatic and who have fully completed their immunization, quarantine is no longer necessary.
Vaccinated and recovered persons are also exempt from the quarantine obligation when returning to Germany from a high-risk area.
3. In order to ensure the best possible protection against infection, the basic protection measures for the entire population will continue to apply. These include the keeping of distance, observing hand hygiene, wearing masks indoors and ventilate regularly indoors. Furthermore, it is imperative to stay at home in case of symptoms and to get tested immediately. The wearing of masks in the retail sector and in public transport remains important and therefore remains mandatory for the entire population. The need for these measures will be reviewed at least every four weeks.
4. In order to prevent a further increase in the number of infections in Germany, the federal states will, in accordance with the 3G rule (access only for vaccinated, recovered or tested persons), introduce an obligation to provide a negative rapid antigen test that is no older than 24 hours or a negative PCR test that is no older than 48 hours for all persons who are neither fully vaccinated nor recovered by August 23, 2021 at the latest. Children up to age 6 are generally exempt, and students beyond that age are exempt because students are tested regularly as part of a mandatory school-based protection plan.
Testing shall be a prerequisite for:
a. Access as visitors to hospitals, homes for the elderly, nursing homes, and facilities for the disabled
b. Access to indoor catering
c. Participation in events and celebrations (e.g., informational, cultural, or sporting events) indoors
d. Use of body-related services (e.g., hairdressing, cosmetics, body care)
e. Indoor sports (e.g., in gyms, swimming pools, or gymnasiums)
f. Accommodations: Test upon arrival and two times per week during the stay
Countries may provide regulations that all or part of the 3G rule may be suspended as long as the 7-day incidence in a county is stably below 35 new infections per 100,000 population, or as long as a country’s indicator system country (which incorporates other factors, such as hospitalization) shows a comparably low reflects a comparably low incidence of infection, and an increase in the infection rates is not expected as a result of suspending the regulations.
The need for the 3G rule is reviewed at least every four weeks.
5. free citizen testing has made an important contribution to interrupting the third wave of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic in Germany and have given citizens additional citizens additional safety in their daily lives. Since in the meantime citizens can now be offered immediate vaccination, it is not possible to take over However, since all citizens can now be offered immediate vaccination, the federal government, and thus the taxpayer Federal Government and thus the taxpayer is not appropriate. Therefore, the federal government will continue the offer of free citizen testing for all effective October 11, 2021. terminate. For individuals who cannot be vaccinated and for whom no general vaccination recommendation is available (especially pregnant women, children and adolescents under 18 years of age), there will continue to be an opportunity for free rapid antigen test.
- major events, indoor events, parties, bars and clubs are the areas associated with a particularly high risk of superspreading events.
This risk increases considerably if participants do not have fixed seats with appropriate participants are not seated at fixed locations with appropriate spacing throughout the event. are not taken. In indoor areas, air exchange, e.g. through ventilation systems, plays a significant role.This risk increases considerably if participants do not have fixed seats with appropriate participants are not seated at fixed locations with appropriate spacing throughout the event. are not taken. In indoor areas, air exchange, e.g. through ventilation systems, plays a significant role.
Therefore, hygiene concepts for these areas must be submitted to the responsible public health authority that give weight to all these aspects and effectively minimize the risk of infection. The states and municipalities will continue to supplement the 3G regulation with restrictive regulations or situation-related decisions on a case-by-case basis to limit the permitted number of subscribers and access where necessary. The Länder agree that, beyond the 3G regulation, for major sporting events above an absolute number of 5,000 spectators, the permissible load is a maximum of 50 percent of the respective maximum capacity, but not more than a total of 25,000 spectators.
7. the Federal Government agrees to extend the Überbrückungshilfen. This is to take into account the restrictions on economic efficiency resulting from the measures under item 6. The states ask the federal government to also extend facilitated access to Kurzarbeitergeld.
8. the federal government will adapt and extend the existing measures of the Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance to the current situation in order to prevent operational infections with the Corona virus. This applies in particular to the obligation to draw up and update company hygiene concepts and the obligation to offer testing.
9. The federal and state governments agree that the hospitalization of COVID19 patients, which has been recorded on a daily basis for a few weeks now, is an important indicator of severe disease progression for assessing the incidence of infection.
In the future, it will be possible to quickly and precisely estimate the extent to which new infections are still leading to severe courses in view of the growing immunity in the population, thus posing a threat both to those affected and to the burden on the health care system. The federal and state governments will consider all indicators, particularly incidence, vaccination rates, and the number of severe courses of disease, as well as the resulting burden on the health care system, in order to monitor the continued incidence of infection.
10. the above measures and their adaptation to the situation in the fall and winter months are based predominantly on legal bases in the Infection Protection Act, which presuppose an epidemic situation of national scope. The Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the German states share the assessment that Germany as a whole continues to face a pandemic situation and that the relevant legal bases for the measures to be taken by the respective competent authorities continue to be necessary to address the situation. Against this background, they ask the German Bundestag to consider declaring the epidemic situation of national scope beyond September 11, 2021.