After Bavaria became the first federal state to impose tougher restrictions, politicians around Germany are pushing for measures to be tightened in other coronavirus hotspots, as the holidays approach. 

Bavaria imposes tighter coronavirus restrictions

On Sunday, Bavaria became the first German state to announce that it would be imposing tougher lockdown measures, since five weeks of partial lockdown had not done enough to significantly reduce COVID-19 infection rates. 

From Wednesday onwards, residents of the southern state will only be allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons, such as shopping for groceries or visiting the doctor, and schools will be partially closed. A curfew will also apply between 9 pm and 5 am in hotspots where the seven-day incidence rate has exceeded 200 per 100.000 inhabitants. 

German politicians call for tougher measures over Christmas

The move has prompted calls for restrictions to be tightened nationwide, and even cast doubt on the possibility of measures being relaxed at the end of December as part of the so-called “Christmas amnesty”. The German Association of Towns and Municipalities has said that the persistently high number of infections mean the possibility of allowing an easing is looking increasingly unlikely. 

“We will have to talk about whether the planned easing for Christmas and New Year’s Eve is actually correct,” said the association’s general manager, Gerd Landsberg. “It will inevitably lead to more social contacts and additional travel activities and thus represents a risk of an increase in new infections.”

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmeier has also stated that the previous steps taken to contain COVID-19 in Germany (i.e. the partial lockdown in November) have proven insufficient. On Monday, he said that very intensive consultations would have to be held in the coming days and weeks to determine what will and will not be possible over the Christmas period. 

Although the next coronavirus summit between federal and state leaders was not planned until January 4, Bavarian state premier Markus Söder has said that it will “probably” be necessary to hold another meeting before Christmas.

Federal states tightening rules over Christmas and New Year

On November 25, the federal and state governments unanimously agreed to relax coronavirus restrictions over Christmas and New Year, allowing up to 10 people plus children to attend family gatherings from December 23 to January 1. They also agreed that stricter measures would have to be imposed in areas with particularly high numbers of infections. 

On Sunday, however, the Bavarian cabinet decided that the planned easing would only apply in the southern state between December 23 and 26, thus overturning the possibility of larger gatherings on New Year’s Eve. A similar regulation already exists in neighbouring Baden-Württemberg, and in Berlin only a maximum of five people will be allowed to meet over the entire festive period. 

Other federal states are now also considering moving away from the “Christmas amnesty”. The state premier of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, said on Sunday that the rules had to be “readjusted” in hotspots. “We are talking about what the options are. We will certainly make further decisions in the course of this week,” he said. 

The state premier of Hesse, Volker Bouffier, has also said that he believes a curfew is necessary in areas with very high seven-day incidence rates, while Bodo Ramelow, state premier of Thuringia, was quoted as saying, “There will be no relief for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.” The Thuringian cabinet is due to discuss measures this coming Tuesday. Tobias Hans, state premier of Saarland, said: “One thing is clear: We must not take any risks, not even on New Year’s Eve.”