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Berlin (dpa) - In the run-up to Christmas, the federal government is also relying on the citizens' personal responsibility to reduce personal contacts and get the corona pandemic better under control.
As a “celebration of privacy”, Christmas is a “certain unknown” in the risk assessment, said Chancellor Helge Braun in the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”.
"Whether we are preparing for Christmas and living with families in such a way that it becomes a contagion problem, or we achieve exactly the opposite - we really have all of that in our own hands."
Reducing contacts to an “absolute minimum” is the prerequisite for being able to meet relatives safely, said the CDU politician.
"Nobody would like to infect their loved ones and relatives."
That is why it depends very much on the behavior of everyone in the week before Christmas.
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Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn also called on citizens to live up to their personal responsibility.
“In the end, we cannot enforce what is necessary in this pandemic only with state rules,” said the CDU politician in an ARD “Extra”.
People should take care of each other and maybe celebrate Christmas on a smaller scale than usual.
The federal and state governments decided on Wednesday evening that the partial lockdown, including the closure of restaurants, theaters and leisure facilities, would be extended until December 20.
Private gatherings with friends, relatives and acquaintances should be limited to a maximum of five people from your own household and one other household.
But Christmas should be able to be celebrated in close family and friends with a maximum of ten people.
Children up to 14 years are not included.
However, some countries have different regulations.
Berlin does not want to participate in the easing for Christmas.
The background to this is the exceeding of a threshold that the federal and state governments had agreed on: From a number of 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, the corona rules are to be tightened again.
In Berlin, this so-called seven-day incidence on Thursday was 215.6.
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In addition, Berlin as well as Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia want to allow hotel stays at Christmas, contrary to the wishes of Chancellery Minister Braun.
If you go on a trip with relatives, "you must have the chance to stay the night somewhere," said Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU).
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) and Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) declared that such overnight stays had no tourist purpose.
Braun, on the other hand, again pointed out on ZDF that the intention to stay overnight could not be controlled and that there was a risk of a tourist offer through the back door.
In Schleswig-Holstein, with its comparatively low number of infections, nail and cosmetic studios as well as massage parlors and animal parks can reopen from Monday.
The seven-day incidence in Schleswig-Holstein was 47.6 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants on Thursday, according to the state government in the evening.
The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) said in the ARD “Extra” that he would find it better if all countries stayed on the same line.
Söder also gave little hope that the federal and state governments will talk about easing the corona restrictions at a possible next meeting in mid-December.
Since the beginning of the partial lockdown in early November, the number of infections has at best stagnated.
“I don't think it's about major easing.
Hopefully it will not be about more consistent measures, ”said Söder.
"Corona is actually a test of patience for all of us."
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According to surveys, most citizens want to support the contact reductions demanded by politicians.
73 percent of those surveyed stated in the ARD “Deutschlandtrend” that they wanted to restrict contacts with their family or visits on the Christmas holidays to a greater or lesser extent.
Almost a quarter (23 percent) are not planning any restrictions.
In a Civey survey on behalf of the news portal “T-Online”, a good 82 percent said they would probably adhere to the contact rules at Christmas.
CDU chairman Friedrich Merz defended his statement that it is none of the government's business how to celebrate Christmas.
“At Christmas in particular, there must be rooms for private life and families that the state does not control.
He can and should rely on the sense of responsibility of the people in the country for the Christmas days, "said Merz of the" Rheinische Post ".
The total number of corona infections detected so far in Germany has exceeded the one million mark.
The health authorities reported 22,806 new infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) within 24 hours.
The number of cases known since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 1,006,394, as the RKI announced.
On Friday a week ago, with 23,648 cases transmitted to the RKI, a record was reached in the daily new infections.
The number of deaths related to the virus rose by 426 to a total of 15,586 as of Friday - that is a new daily high.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201127-99-481053 / 2