Two countries expressed their displeasure with the Corona resolutions of the Prime Minister's Conference in a footnote on Tuesday evening.

Baden-Württemberg and Saxony issued a protocol declaration and distanced themselves from the decisions in it.

At the end of the seven-page document, the states stated that the decisions were “not far enough”.

The resolutions “do not guarantee sufficient capacity to act in order to be able to react quickly to a worsening situation”, it says.

Baden-Württemberg also demanded that the Bundestag "short-term" again declare the epidemic emergency of national scope.

In view of the spread of the Omikron variant, this is "urgently required".

Kim Bjorn Becker

Editor in politics.

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Stefan Locke

Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.

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On Wednesday, Stuttgart followed up the disappointment in words with political decisions.

Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) announced in the state parliament that the stricter rules for private meetings in the southwest, decided by the federal and state governments, should come into force immediately after the holidays - and “not only on December 28,” as the Prime Minister emphasized.

Baden-Württemberg is bringing the agreed steps forward by one day.

Why did the government still approve the resolution?

Kretschmann said that a joint approach for the federal and state governments was imperative.

If the catering trade in one country were to be closed, this would lead to "huge gastro-tourism".

Baden-Württemberg is not an island either.

“After all, we have 1,100 kilometers of borders with other federal states.” The Prime Minister recalled the debate at the end of February, when the hardware stores in Bavaria were open and those in Baden-Württemberg were not.

He wanted to avoid that, which is why he was "usually in convoy with the other countries," said Kretschmann.

Saxony has had stricter rules since November

For Saxony, the resolutions of the Prime Minister's Conference will not change much. Only the contact restriction to a maximum of ten people, which will apply from December 28th, is an innovation, all other rules have been in effect in the Free State since mid-November. At that time, Saxony was the first federal state to adopt the 2-G rule and shortly thereafter also comparatively strict measures to reduce contact and curfew for unvaccinated people in high-incidence areas. Since then, retail has only been open to vaccinated or convalescent people, as are restaurants, which are only allowed to open until 8 p.m. All cultural and sports facilities are closed without exception.

All of this was necessary because Saxony had by far the lowest vaccination rate and therefore the highest number of new infections. Meanwhile, the number of infections has more than halved, but the hospitals are still full, said Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on Wednesday at a question time in the state parliament in Dresden. “Many would have wished that restrictions could be withdrawn more quickly. But that will only work if the hospitals are significantly relieved. "

In view of the Omikron variant, one has to be very careful, says Kretschmer.

During the consultations with his counterpart and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), he pleaded for even more extensive restrictions - such as the nationwide cancellation of all events including sports, the closure of restaurants and travel restrictions - but ultimately agreed to the compromise.

With the protocol note, he also wanted to jump to the side of the Robert Koch Institute, said Kretschmer, after institute head Lothar Wieler had explicitly called for clearer restrictions before the conference on Tuesday and was sharply criticized by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD).

"We have to be prepared"

“It is of great value that we have freedom of science, especially when the time does not fit or the statement does not fit,” said Kretschmer. He is therefore very much in favor of scientists being allowed to continue to say if politics is too slow for them or if they are not acting properly. In addition, he agrees with Kretschmann that “the entire tool kit for fighting pandemics must be available again quickly”. “We have to be prepared in the future if a third or half of the employees in the critical infrastructure will be absent because they are sick or in quarantine.

Kretschmer also addressed the protests against the corona measures. When asked by the AfD whether the Prime Minister was “afraid of his own people” because the police were breaking up the “walks” against it, Kretschmer said: “Whether something is lawful or not, courts in this country decide, and in this matter we have that Right on our side. ”The measures, including the restriction of the right to demonstrate to ten participants, were aimed at reducing contacts. He thanked the police, "who do their work with a sense of proportion and a clear stance for democracy and the rule of law". The "provocations of strollers" demanded a lot from the emergency services. It was not until the weekend in Annaberg-Buchholz in the Ore Mountains that a police officer who was breaking up an illegal celebration with colleagues was beaten up by participants and seriously injured.