In some areas of Bavaria, you can only leave the house under certain conditions - and now this measure is being extended to cover the entire federal state. This was announced by State Premier Markus Söder on Friday. 

Lockdown in Bavaria begins on Saturday

Starting from midnight on Friday, March 20, initially for two weeks, new restrictions will apply throughout the state of Bavaria, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The state government unanimously decided to impose a statewide curfew, Söder announced at a press conference in Munich. “We are shutting down public life almost completely,” he said. 

As of Saturday, leaving one’s house or apartment will only be permitted if there are good reasons. This includes going to work, shopping for groceries or other necessary supplies like medicine, visiting the doctor, helping others, visiting life partners, or exercising in the fresh air. The latter can only be done alone or with the people you live with. 

The curfew will be enforced by the police. High fines of up to 25.000 euros will be imposed in the event of violations. 

Söder also announced that all federal states would close all restaurants from midnight. There will only be take out, drive through and delivery services for the next 14 days, he said. All other federal states are expected to implement this. 

Social distancing measures were not heeded

He justified the extreme measure on the one hand, with the massive increase in the number of coronavirus cases in Bavaria. From Thursday to Friday alone the number of cases had gone up by 35 percent, to at least 2.400. The number of fatalities rose from 10 to 15.

On the other hand, Söder said that the current restrictions were not being followed at present, with groups of people continuing to gather in public places. “We can no longer accept that,” he said. 

With this decision, Bavaria becomes the first state to impose a general curfew, with the federal government currently mulling a Germany-wide lockdown. However, Söder said that this was no time for a lengthy coordination process and half-hearted action.