Bavarian Governor Markus Söder declared a state of emergency on Sunday. He said the decision had been made because a uniform strategy is needed for the crisis under uniform leadership. “The challenge is growing by the day, so we must be consistent, but appropriate.”
Starting Tuesday, Bavaria will close all bars, cinemas and public swimming pools, and on Wednesday, certain businesses will have to shutter, Söder said Sunday night.
Similar restrictions were also put in place over the weekend in Berlin, where bars and clubs closed along with other public leisure, sport and cultural facilities. Serious restrictions have also been placed on visits to hospitals and old people’s homes.
Schools
As part of the further effort to slow the spread, thousands of schools and day care centers across Germany will close starting today. The unprecedented new rules will apply in most German states until the middle or end of April. Millions of people are affected: Germany is home to more than 2.8 million primary school children, and 3.7 children are cared for in day care facilities or after-school care centers.
The German state of Saxony is taking steps to slowly close its schools this week, relaxing its compulsory education law to provide teachers, students and parents with a bit of time to prepare for complete school closures. Brandenburg is suspending regular school classes starting Wednesday. School attendance will still be possible, but it will no longer be compulsory, at least for now. Similar rules go into effect on Monday in the state of Hesse.
The weeks-long closure of schools is expected to cause massive problems for parents and employers alike. German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil has appealed to company bosses and the heads of public authorities to work together with their employees to find unbureaucratic and consensual solutions for childcare so that parents aren’t threatened with the loss of wages.
Railway Operations
According to information obtained by DER SPIEGEL, Germany’s national railway, Deutsche Bahn, is planning to reduce regional rail traffic starting mid-week. German Transportation Minister Andreas Scheuer stated that everything possible would be done to “maintain complete infrastructures.”
The Political Response
At the moment, the entire national political focus is on the corona crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel is holding a meeting of her cabinet’s committee for combating that crisis on Monday morning. A government spokesman said that Merkel, Deputy Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Health Minister Jens Spahn and Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer would discuss measures to be taken in the fight against the virus.
Merkel is also planning a video conference call, likely to take place on Monday afternoon, with the heads of the G-7 countries to discuss the corona pandemic and its consequences.
Icon: Der Spiegel
Article source: https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-shutdown-begins-across-germany-a-3c541d1d-1d42-4672-9fdc-af6c3247df76#ref=rss