Only Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern apply the hotspot rule

The vast majority of federal states do not see how to apply the so-called regulation of hotspots and thus maintain the previous measures to combat the pandemic across the country. Lower Saxony Health Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) said on Tuesday that, apart from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hamburg, no country has seen a legal possibility to make the regulation proposed by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). ).

Reinhard Bingener

Political correspondent for Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bremen based in Hannover.

Behrens lamented this lack of options for action and sees the reason for it in the federal traffic light coalition’s new infection protection law. From Sunday, masks will only be mandatory in some areas, such as nursing, healthcare and local public transport, but not in retail.

The hotspot regulation announced by Lauterbach only applies if there is a risk of overloading the healthcare system, Behrens explained. Given the high number of infections, the burden on hospitals is high, “but it is not overloaded”. Federal states have “few possibilities for interpretation”, complained Behrens and referred to the strict examination of the content of protective measures by administrative courts.

In view of its stringent precautionary measures so far, Lower Saxony “is not suspected of not using instruments that can be used,” Behrens emphasized. It will now be observed whether the hotspot regulations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hamburg are valid in the courts.

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The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), reiterated his assessment that there is no room for maneuver to identify the entire NRW as a legally secure hotspot. The federal government has recently again underlined how high the obstacles would be to such protective measures by the federal states. “This is not what 16 prime ministers wanted,” criticized Wüst, who is currently chairman of the conference of prime ministers. The federal government is now also responsible for the development of the pandemic.

The prime minister of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) complained that the federal government had withdrawn instruments from the states. “But it would be right to give us the instrument box so that we can use the instruments depending on the situation.” Kretschmann urged people to voluntarily wear masks indoors.