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Soest (dpa / lnw) - Soest and Lippstadt are the first cities in North Rhine-Westphalia to open their outdoor restaurants as part of Corona model projects.
Restaurants and cafes in the city centers can be visited again from next Wednesday, as the two cities announced on Friday.
Strict conditions apply: visitors must have registered and reserved a table in advance and they must have a negative Corona test result.
A maximum of five people from two households are allowed to sit at one table.
25 companies with 1,800 seats in Soest and nine companies with 530 seats in Lippstadt are allowed to take part.
While the outdoor catering has to remain closed in other parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Soest and Lippstadt are allowed to go their own way.
This is because the Ministry of Economics has selected these cities as so-called model municipalities - the experience in Soest and Lippstadt should help to allow public life even in pandemic times and still have the infection process under control.
It was originally supposed to start on April 19, but at that time the corona weekly incidence was more than 100. The municipalities are only allowed to start when the incidence is in the double-digit range.
It has since fallen to 69.6 in the Soest district by Friday.
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There are 13 other model municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia, which were originally also supposed to open in certain areas.
Only in Münster, Coesfeld and Soest / Lippstadt are the weekly incidences so low that they could start.
In Coesfeld things started on a small scale, for example with a fitness studio - but outdoor catering is not part of the project as a model community.
According to the city administration, Münster has not yet decided when to start with what.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210507-99-507754 / 2