Germany takes tougher Covid stance with 10-person cap on gatherings

Olaf Scholz's government agrees new restrictions to rein in the Omicron variant

Closed bars and restaurants in Frankfurt, Germany. AP

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Germany began life under tougher coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday with private events limited to 10 people to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Indoor and outdoor gatherings are capped under the new rules, while nightclubs are closed, fans are locked out of football grounds and shops are banned from selling traditional New Year fireworks.

The restrictions are tougher still for unvaccinated people, who are limited to meeting two people from another household and effectively banned from venues such as restaurants and theatres.

The rules were agreed last week by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states, who are free to go further if they wish.

They took effect on Tuesday despite infection numbers falling from a November peak. Although that wave of Delta infections has subsided, ministers fear the Omicron variant could cause further chaos.

There were 21,080 new cases on Tuesday, slightly down from a week earlier, although public health officials cautioned that the data over the Christmas period might reflect less frequent testing. There were 372 deaths.

Some states have taken the option to set tougher rules, with hard-hit Saxony in eastern Germany ordering a curfew between 10pm and 6am. High-quality, medical-grade masks are required in some areas.

Other restrictions already in force mean people must show proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test result to travel on long-distance trains.

Gatherings will be banned in some places on New Year’s Eve. Although there is no ban on setting off previously bought fireworks, people are urged to avoid this to prevent busy hospitals from having to treat injured bystanders.

Meanwhile, politicians were ordered by judges on Tuesday to draw up special rules to protect disabled people if medical care has to be rationed because of Covid-19.

MPs have so far “failed to take measures ensuring that no one is at risk of being disadvantaged … if shortages in intensive care resources arise”, said a verdict from the Federal Constitutional Court.

Although Germany has so far avoided hospitals being overloaded to that degree, some patients in heavily affected areas have been transferred to wards in other parts of the country.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach welcomed the verdict. “People with disabilities need protection by the state more than anyone else,” he said.

Mr Lauterbach celebrated a success this week after Germany hit a target of handing out 30 million extra vaccinations in the last weeks of 2021.

About 71 per cent of Germany’s population is fully vaccinated, with 37 per cent receiving booster shots so far.