Germany’s first relaxation of the corona measures. This was information was taken from a Südwest Press (SWP.de) article.
School operations are to be gradually restarted from 4 May onwards, starting with:
• The graduation classes
• The classes that will take the exams in the coming year
• The upper elementary school classes
Kindergartens remain closed
Bavaria wants to start later
Shops with a sales area of up to 800 square meters may reopen from Monday under certain conditions. Regardless of size, book, car and bicycle dealers will be allowed to open. All shops will be subject to requirements regarding hygiene, access control and the avoidance of queues.
Hairdressing businesses should also prepare to resume operations as of May 4.
The contact restrictions now apply for the time being until 3 May 2020. The distance rules are also to remain in place. Accordingly, a distance of 1.5 meters must be maintained in public. Citizens are only allowed to be in public in the circle of relatives or with another person not living in the household. In addition, private travel and visits should continue to be avoided.
Festivals and major events still prohibited until 31 August 2020
Major events remain prohibited until at least 31 August 2020. Among others, the following are affected by the ban:
• Football matches in front of a large audience
• Larger concerts and festivals
• Shooting festivals
• Fairground events.
Ban on assembly in churches, mosques and other places of worship remains in force. There will be discussions concerning this however.
Tourist overnight stays in hotels are still not allowed, and catering establishments must remain closed until further notice. Excluded is the delivery and collection of food for consumption at home.
Bars, clubs, discotheques, pubs as well as theatres, operas and concert halls are also still closed. Chancellor Merkel defended the decision: In restaurants the minimum distance to other people cannot be controlled. In two weeks, she said, one would know the effect of the new relaxation - then one could think about further steps.
German border controls extended until 4 May due to Corona. This affects travel to and from Austria, France, Luxembourg, Denmark and Switzerland. The restriction also applies to air travelers from Italy and Spain. Since mid-March, anyone who is neither a German citizen nor a foreigner living permanently in Germany has only been allowed to enter the country for a "good reason" - for example, as a commuter. In addition, all persons entering Germany are subject to a 14-day quarantine obligation.
There is no general mask obligation; however, wearing of so-called everyday masks is "strongly recommended" when shopping and on public transport.
Hopes are fading that a Corona warning app for smartphones will be available this week. Chancellor Merkel said that this is being worked on at full speed. "It must first be approved by the Robert Koch Institute, the Federal Office for Information Security, and of course the Data Protection Commissioner." There it is examined whether individual components of the app are susceptible. It has to be ensured that the app can be used on different smartphones. To do this, one would have to be in contact with the manufacturers of the operating systems.
Next Corona Conference to be held on April 30. Chancellor Merkel announced that the conference with the prime ministers of the federal states would now take place every 14 days, with the next meeting scheduled for 30 April 2020. Then it is to be agreed on how to proceed for Germany in the Corona crisis.