Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has questioned the quarantine rules for returnees that were changed last week.

According to them, fully vaccinated and convalescent people have to register electronically when returning from risk areas and high incidence areas, but are exempt from quarantine.

When entering from virus variant areas, fully vaccinated persons can end the quarantine prematurely if it can be proven that their vaccination protection against the virus variant is effective in the area visited.

This regulation should actually apply until September 10th.

Heike Schmoll

Political correspondent in Berlin, responsible for the “educational worlds”.

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Söder apparently wants the quarantine rules to be tightened from August 1st and not September 11th, "because a quarantine regulation only after the holidays makes no sense," said the CSU chairman of the "Augsburger Allgemeine". In addition, the regulation must provide for a test obligation for all returnees, regardless of the country from which they entered. He has invited the Union-led countries to a switching conference for next Tuesday in order to prepare a nationwide uniform regulation for travel returnees.

According to Söder, vaccination of children and adolescents will also be at the fore at a possibly following Prime Minister's Conference.

"We have to commit ourselves to a common vaccination program for schoolchildren in August - regardless of the STIKO", which had not recommended a general vaccination for children.

Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony are also pressing for an early conference of the ministerial presidents.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said, "when you return from a risk area, two tests and a quarantine up to the second test should be mandatory," she told the "Handelsblatt".

Dispute over freedoms for vaccinated people in the CDU

Meanwhile, the CDU is arguing about the question of whether those who have been tested can no longer be equated with those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered? Chancellery chief Helge Braun (CDU) spoke out in a conversation with "Bild am Sonntag" in favor of giving corona vaccinated people special rights over those who have been tested in the future. This should apply, for example, to future restrictions during a fourth corona wave that might threaten in autumn. "Vaccinated people will definitely have more freedom than unvaccinated people".

In the event of a high infection rate despite the known test concepts, unvaccinated people would have to reduce their contacts.

"This can also mean that certain offers such as restaurant, cinema and stadium visits would no longer be possible even for those who have not been vaccinated because the residual risk is too high," said Braun.

He considers a lockdown to be unnecessary as long as the vaccines against the Delta variant help.

Laschet contradicts Braun

However, a high fourth wave would have an impact on the companies due to massive quarantine.

"And for those who have not been vaccinated, there will be compulsory tests and for high numbers of infections further tightening."

He thinks that is legally permissible because the state has to keep the health system functioning, argued Braun.