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Several members of the Union in the Bundestag are calling for a gradual exit from the corona lockdown shortly before the next federal-state consultations.

"After months of restrictions and hard privations, but also in view of increasing vaccination protection for particularly vulnerable population groups, we have to talk more about tangible perspectives," said Union faction vice-chairman Thorsten Frei (CDU) WELT.

"Instead of advising on nationwide lockdowns, we need concepts for local openings as far as possible."

Frei spoke out in favor of a "perspective plan" that could provide a nationwide framework for loosening up on site.

These should primarily be based on the incidence.

"With an incidence of less than 50, the infection process is easy to track," said Frei.

"Apart from major events, public life could be largely normal."

The CDU health politician Rudolf Henke and the CDU interior expert Marian Wendt also advocated a nationwide uniform framework plan.

"The goal is a permanent strategy that is reliable for the population and that combines uniformity and regionality in the measures," said Henke.

Similar to Ireland, for example, a system of five levels can be set up that applies to all counties and urban districts.

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Wendt spoke out in favor of a traffic light system as in Italy, where the government has divided the regions into three colors - depending on the specific corona risk on site.

The division is made centrally every two weeks and is linked to specific relaxations or restrictions.

"People in the yellow zone can already visit restaurants and cafés, while people in the red zone are subject to exit and contact restrictions," said Wendt WELT.

"For citizens, this creates predictability and a life that allows normality to a certain extent despite the pandemic."

The three MPs are calling for a more concrete exit plan than the federal government has so far publicly discussed.

While some state leaders have already brought step-by-step plans into play - namely Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia - members of the federal government recently warned against quick easing.

The step-by-step plan of the Schleswig-Holstein government - intended as a “blueprint” for the federal government

Source: WORLD infographic

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In an interview with WELT AM SONNTAG a week ago, Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) indicated that he considered an extension of the corona lockdown even with a seven-day incidence of less than 50 to be conceivable.

More information is needed about the highly contagious virus mutations.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Health Minister Jens Spahn (both CDU) also warned against rapid easing.

A working group from the federal and state governments is currently working on a concept of how things could continue after February 14th, when the current lockdown expires.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor will meet next Wednesday.

"Citizens should have incentives"

The fact that several CDU MPs are now in favor of a concrete perspective plan is likely to have something to do with displeasure about blanket restrictions that some parliamentarians in the population feel.

And with the concern that discipline in adhering to the rules could weaken.

Source: WORLD infographic

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Union politician Frei justifies his proposal for a step-by-step plan as follows: "Citizens should have incentives to behave as carefully as possible and to adhere to the applicable provisions."

Other MPs had already brought step-by-step plans into play: For example, the FDP health expert Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus advocates a “binding step-by-step plan” that should define criteria on the basis of which opening steps can take place.

On Friday the Bundestag will debate a motion from the Greens parliamentary group that aims in a similar direction.

"Expect more innovative measures from Merkel to balance health protection and freedom"

FDP leader Christian Linder has called on Chancellor Angela Merkel and the federal government to deal more innovatively with the problems of the corona crisis.

"Where are the innovative air filters, where are the quick tests carried out by laypeople?"

Source: WORLD

In the details, however, the proposals differ considerably - also among the CDU MPs.

This concerns, for example, the question of which factors should be tied to the relaxation and new restrictions.

Likewise the question of when which measures can be considered.

While Frei cites the incidence value as the decisive criterion, Henke and Wendt advocate a mix of several factors.

Wendt is based on Italy, which takes 21 factors into account when dividing a region into a tier, including the availability of intensive care beds, for example.

"That does better justice to the specific corona risk than our pure focus on the 50s incidence."

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The Robert Koch Institute in Germany could develop such an index.

The Bundestag would then have to vote on the specific criteria.

Henke suggests a "Corona index": It should not only be based on the incidence, but also take other parameters into account.

This could include the number of people in need of care living in homes or the population density in the respective district.

At the same time, the health politician insists on defining uniform measures even below the 50s incidence.

"Even if the incidence is only ten or 20, the infection process can get out of hand very quickly, as we saw in autumn," says Henke.

"We should also discuss which further measures should be necessary if the number of infections increases again regionally."

There are also different ideas about the regions in which uniform rules apply.

When the federal and state governments decided on a “hotspot strategy” last summer, the districts and independent cities were the decisive level.

This is where the health authorities are located, which collect the data on infections.

Accordingly, a district should take containment measures if the numbers rose to more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in one week.

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Wendt now considers the focus on the districts to be "too fragmented".

After all, there is an exchange anyway, many people commute.

The fact that completely different restrictions should then apply in the neighboring district than in one's own would also be difficult to convey to the population.

The division into zones must therefore take place at the state level, says Wendt.

And compliance with the measures will then also be strictly controlled.

“It is clear that the system will only work if all federal states adhere to it - and control is successful.” People in an area defined as red may then no longer be allowed to travel.

"We didn't use the term" privileges "at all, I think it's wrong"

When asked how the ethics council deals with the terms “privileges” and “special rights”, Buyx says: “We didn't use the term at all, I think it's wrong, it mixes up too many things.

Everything is overwritten with "privileges". "

Source: WORLD / Marcus Tychsen