display
Garden centers, flower shops, zoos - there are industries and offerings that are not so much the focus in other times, but which are now causing annoyance in northern Germany, especially among the Hamburg state government.
Because shortly after the federal-state conference on Wednesday, the two neighboring federal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony began to show not only the hairdressers opening perspectives, while the Hanseatic city sticks to its hard line.
Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) commented narrowly on the actions of the state leaders Daniel Günther (Schleswig-Holstein, CDU) and Stephan Weil (Lower Saxony, SPD) on Thursday after a special session of the Senate: "We are implementing the resolutions of the conference in Hamburg" he said when asked.
Most recently, he had repeatedly emphasized how important it was not to initiate travel traffic because other regulations are granted in the neighboring federal states.
Hamburg's second mayor Katharina Fegebank (Greens) made this clear again on Thursday.
“All countries would do well to adhere to the resolutions.
Otherwise we'll end up in a kind of relaxing cacophony, ”she said.
The appeal is probably too late, because flower shops and garden centers in Lower Saxony are allowed to open again from Saturday, as confirmed by the State Chancellery in Hanover.
For the florists, the easing comes just in time for Valentine's Day on February 14, which is important for the industry.
The country's new corona rules are to be officially presented on Friday.
They come into force one day later.
Numerous garden centers are also in the immediate vicinity of Hamburg.
And there is also another deviation that affects the contact rule for children.
In the future, children up to six years of age belonging to the household should no longer be covered by the contact restriction.
So far, this exception only applies to children up to three years of age.
In addition, car dealers should also be allowed to reopen, but only for test drives.
None of these regulations apply in Hamburg.
“A person is a person,” Tschentscher said on Wednesday evening when it came to the contact regulations.
So there is no separate consideration of children here.
In Schleswig-Holstein, zoos, wildlife parks, horticultural centers and flower shops should be able to reopen on March 1st, as Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) announced in the state parliament on Thursday.
The same applies to certain indoor sports as well as hairdressing salons and nail salons.
There is no question of this in Hamburg either.
In general, the federal and state governments decided on Wednesday to extend the corona lockdown with closed shops, restaurants and leisure facilities until March 7th.
However, countries also have their own regulatory options.
Primary schools and daycare centers in Schleswig-Holstein are expected to return to regular attendance on February 22nd.
This should go hand in hand with an expanded test strategy in the country.
Teachers and other employees at schools and daycare centers should be able to be tested regularly.
In Hamburg, according to Tschentscher, work is being carried out on a concept to open primary schools after the spring break in mid-March;
an earlier regulation for daycare centers is conceivable, but by no means decided.
display
Tschentscher warned urgently on Thursday against abandoning the cautious course.
In view of the uncertainties in connection with the infection process around the mutated coronaviruses and because the number of new infections is falling only very slowly, now is not the time to talk about "opening perspective plans".
Hamburg still has a long way to go, you shouldn't get into a pendulum situation.
The mayor left it open when it was possible to estimate exactly what effect the mutations would have.
It is now important that the people of Hamburg stay at home during the holidays so that a similar scenario as in the previous year does not recur.
Back then, the virus was brought with them en masse by holidaymakers returning home.
Long road to incidence 35
A look at the current figures shows how long the path is even without such an entry: The number of new corona infections in Hamburg has fallen further compared to the week.
According to the health authority, 194 new proven cases were added on Thursday.
That is 25 less than the day before and 31 less than the Wednesday a week ago.
The incidence, i.e. the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, fell from 68.4 to 66.8.
A week ago this value was 74.2 - 7.4 points higher.
If the decline continues at this rate, the mark for opening retail and cultural establishments by March 7th, which is now at an incidence value of 35, would not be nearly finished for four weeks, just after March 7th.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the number of those who have died of or with the virus since the beginning of the pandemic has increased by 9 to 1167. According to the health authority, 334 Covid patients were treated in the hospitals of the Hanseatic city as of Wednesday, 4 fewer than the day before.
There were 67 corona patients in the intensive care units on Thursday, according to the register of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi) - one less than the day before.
They used 11.5 percent of all intensive care beds in Hamburg.
The economic consequences of the pandemic are also becoming increasingly clear.
Hamburg's Senator for Finance Andreas Dressel (SPD) announced that he wanted to talk to representatives from the city center on Thursday evening about how diversity in the city could be saved.
The city center was hit harder than many districts, said Dressel.
With a view to the economy as a whole, he stated that 102.8 million euros had now flowed from the November aid, and 59.9 million euros had been paid out for December.
He recalled that Hamburg could only pay out once the Federal Minister of Economics had approved the funds.
It was agreed with the major Hamburg banks, which are united in the Hamburg financial center, that joint solutions should be sought right now.
Nobody who waits with a well-founded application for aid “should have to give up at this stage”, says Dressel.
CDU calls for a step-by-step plan
display
The Hamburg CDU also reacted on Thursday to the extension of the lockdown and called for a step-by-step plan to open up businesses in the hospitality, retail, craft, event and cultural sectors.
"The Chancellor's summit showed it using the example of the hairdressing trade: tiered solutions are possible and, in the truest sense of the word, necessary," said the economic expert of the parliamentary group, Götz Wiese, on Thursday.
Together with its northern German neighbors, Hamburg must present concrete proposals that will be incorporated into a nationwide opening plan.
Previously, CDU parliamentary group leader Dennis Thering had called for a "predictable perspective", "from which incidence values a careful opening of the sectors and areas affected by the previous lockdown will be possible again".
Schools and daycare centers should have top priority in the event of relaxation.
"But for Hamburg that also means that School Senator (Ties) Rabe (SPD) must use the time until the end of the spring break to finally develop a step-by-step plan, from which incidence, under which hygiene conditions, which schools are allowed to reopen."
Sharp criticism from the economy
Criticism and demands came from the economy.
The head of the North Business Association, Uli Wachholtz, said: “We do not understand why hairdressers are allowed to open, but not retailers who guarantee the protection of customers with significantly greater distances and complex hygiene measures.
The decisions are once again half-baked, unjust and unsystematic.
Both the Chancellor's approach and the encrusted federalism are causing massive damage to Germany as a business location, both healthily and economically.
When will the federal government finally wake up? ”In his opinion, the mood in the north German economy would not be quite as negative
“
if the federal government had at least succeeded in paying out promised aid quickly and unbureaucratically.
“
For the next few months he feared that political decisions or non-decisions in Germany will be shaped by the six state elections and the federal election,“ which means that we will fall significantly further in an international comparison.
Bankruptcies, unemployment, fewer apprenticeships, and industries that are collapsing will be topics that we will soon have to deal with. "