Controls in gastronomy: How the countries comply with the Corona

"A customer is no longer coming." This is the conclusion taken by Julian Ploch, one of two owners of the Frankfurt coffee roasting company Hoppenworth & Ploch, after several months of pandemic under 2-G conditions.

Only one regular customer has been avoiding his three café branches since the employees check whether the guests have been vaccinated or have recovered.

Ploch introduced the 2-G concept voluntarily, out of conviction, as he says: "From our point of view, vaccination is the only way out of the pandemic."

Stefan Locke

Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.

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Anna Schiller

Volunteer.

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Matthias Wyssuwa

Political correspondent for Northern Germany and Scandinavia based in Hamburg.

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According to a survey by the Hotel and Restaurant Association, Ploch belongs to a minority.

According to this, only nine percent of restaurants and hotels in Germany apply the 2-G rule.

Two thirds opened with a 3-G concept.

Your guests have to prove that they have been vaccinated or recovered - or show a negative rapid test.

The rules that restaurateurs are required to follow differs from state to state.

In Hesse, 3 G applies, with the option of 2 G. The state government has just re-sharpened it: Those who have not been vaccinated or recovered must show a PCR test, a rapid test is no longer enough. From this week, 3-G will also apply to staff in supermarkets, hairdressers or on buses and trains. Nothing will change for the guests in Plochs Cafés: They still have to show their status in the CovPass app at the table.

A mere visual inspection, as one often experiences, is not enough, according to the Robert Koch Institute, which developed the app.

The validity of the certificates must be checked with the CovPassCheck app, which scans the QR codes of the visit, and an identification document.

For Ploch this is much more practical than the contact lists on paper.

However, he is disappointed by the authorities: The Frankfurt regulatory office recently checked whether the café chain met the pandemic requirements in March 2020.

Why are there no uniform rules across Germany?

Who controls whom and when - that is a matter for the federal states. Although the federal government enacts the Infection Protection Act, which authority checks compliance with the rules and how, the state governments decide, says Christoph Gusy, Professor of Public Law at Bielefeld University. He believes that the autonomy of the countries makes perfect sense, because the pandemic would not affect all regions equally. The conditions in Bavaria were different from those in Aurich, says Gusy.

Hamburg was the first federal state to rely on the 2-G rule. The First Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) had previously pointed out repeatedly that life would be more difficult for the unvaccinated. From August onwards, restaurants, cafés and event locations could register with the city for the new 2-G option. They had to clearly indicate at the entrance if they were following the 2-G model and check the admission authorizations. In return, all restrictions no longer apply. Unlike those who continued to allow admission according to the 3G rules. In the beginning, however, many restaurants or event organizers were reluctant to register for the 2-G model. But there were more and more in the following weeks. In total, there are already 1938 institutions, the Senate announced on request.

The police help the district offices to control the so-called containment ordinance. According to the Senate, there were 185 3G or 2G controls in the past week alone. 2200 controls have been carried out since September. The Hamburg police said that 629 violations were found. The customers can also be checked by the police - i.e. whether everyone in a shop with a 2-G option is actually vaccinated or recovered and logged into a tracking app. In these cases, there are sometimes only verbal warnings or administrative fines are initiated.

The catalog of fines provides for a 150 euro fine for guests who, for example, are caught in a 2-G operation without proof of vaccination or recovery.

For the operator, a fine of 5000 euros is noted as a standard rate.

In the case of repeated violations, the penalty is doubled.

In individual cases, the company can also be closed.

Just like a few days ago when the police checked a cultural association in St. Pauli and six of ten guests were without complete proof of vaccination and no one had logged into an app for contact tracking.