Apparently, Germany will keep this lock-down until 3. May:
Mindestabstand und stark eingeschränkte Kontakte sollen nach Ansicht der Bundesregierung die wichtigsten Corona-Regeln bleiben. Dafür will sie in anderen Bereichen baldige Lockerungen vorschlagen.
www.spiegel.de
In the corona crisis, the federal government is striving to extend existing contact restrictions for citizens until at least May 3.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) will then go to the video conference with the prime ministers in the afternoon, with the final decision on the further measures.
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However, the current contact restrictions should be extended until May 3, so it is "still crucial that citizens keep a minimum distance of 1.5 meters in public and only there alone, with another person who is not in the household or stay in the circle of relatives of your own household ".
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But the federal government is also talking about easing, for example by opening stores and companies. In the first step of a tiered model, stores such as the car and bicycle trade, book and furniture trade, and telecommunications companies are mentioned, and all shops with a sales area of up to 800 square meters should be able to reopen.
The key points paper goes on to say that hairdressing companies could reopen from May 4 - "with hygiene requirements, to control access and to avoid queues and with the use of personal protective equipment". In addition, libraries, zoos and botanical gardens were to become accessible again, also subject to conditions. Large cultural events remain prohibited for the time being.
It is also controversial whether there should be a mask requirement. The key point paper only refers to the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute, "according to which the wearing of so-called (non-medical) everyday masks or community masks in public spaces, in which the minimum distance cannot be guaranteed regularly (e.g. public transport), the risk of infections can reduce ".
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Citizens continue to be asked to "generally refrain from private trips and visits - including from relatives". This also applies in Germany and for national day trips. The global travel warning should be maintained.
According to dpa information in the Bund-Länder-switch on Tuesday, the ban on religious services of all religions was said to be easiest to imagine. The cornerstone paper, on the other hand, states that "meetings in churches, mosques, synagogues, as well as religious celebrations and events and the gatherings of other religious communities" continue to be prohibited.
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The controversial question of when and how daycare centers, schools and universities can gradually be reopened will continue to be coordinated. We are currently discussing a task for the Conference of Ministers of Education to develop a framework for the gradual opening of schools and universities by the end of April.
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the planned app for tracking infection chains was described as an important tool for combating the pandemic. The stock of protective masks and clothing should be increased further, primarily to equip the health and care sector. Companies where the prescribed distance cannot be maintained should also be provided with masks.
Also, here is the masks story:
Die Kanzlerin und die Ministerpräsidenten haben sich offenbar nicht auf eine einheitliche Maskenpflicht einigen können. Nach SPIEGEL-Informationen wollen sie das Tragen von Schutzmasken aber für bestimmte Bereiche "dringend" empfehlen.
www.spiegel.de
According to SPIEGEL information, the federal and state governments want to "urgently" recommend that citizens wear so-called everyday masks in future retail and public transport.
As a result, the participants in the consultations were apparently unable to agree on a further mask requirement in shops, authorities, buses and trains. Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) recently called for such a duty.
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Major events are to be banned until August 31 because of the corona pandemic - football games are also affected.
I was today at the Otolaryngologist with my son; the drive was a couple of kilometers and on the way I saw only 3 people wearing masks. Bus drivers, public workers, delivery guys, postmen, etc. - none with a mask on....
When we came to the (one of the) city center, I saw another 4 people actually wearing masks, one was having it in his hand and some just left it hanging - so not on their face.
Pretty relaxed, I would say....
We´ll see how it will go on....
At the doctor´s practice was of course another story - all doctors and personnel had double masks, hair caps, glases and glows - I could barely hear and hardly understand what they were saying....
On the other side; my son´s speech therapist called me today and told me that she is closing her practice; she can´t afford it financially any more and cannot keep up and implement all this new health restrictions.
I was very sorry to hear that; she is a beautiful person and my son loved to come to the therapies.
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Reading all those instructions from the government, I expect that the kids will have to wear masks in the school, so I´ve ordered a couple of cotton masks just in case my kids will have to wear them.... I cannot help to feel sorry for them and how this all situation will affect them mentally and their social life.
I´m used to do home office and I like staying at home. I can´t sit in one place for 8h - at home I can stretch, go out to the balcony and work from there when is nice weather, work AND smoke
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But for kids that is devastating....
Luckily, the neighbors don´t (jet) call the police about children playing outside + here are not so strict measures as i.e. in Macedonia I read about from Konstantin.
My kids still go out every day at least for 2h (some kids are allowed to be out for only 2h), coming home all wet and muddy + I´ve managed to agree with my older one to take the younger one out to play and younger one promised he won´t tease "big" boys
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Somehow I still can´t shake that feeling when I wake up, when for a second I kinda forget about this new world unfolding, that today I´ll read some good news that will roll-back and put things back to default - until I open some news portal or forum and see things are not getting better, but quite contrary. Yeah, wishful thinking much....
I feel so helpless when I i.e. talk to my mother; we talk every day on the phone and she "understands" that people are old and dying not because of corona directly, but there is always "BUT bla bla bla"... It´s always the same story.... and I can´t listen to that any more....
What an interesting time we live in....