The German minister’s plan to impose restrictions on the unvaccinated is criticized | Germany

Plans by the German health minister not to impose restrictions on Germans who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus are met with fierce resistance from his coalition partners and the opposition.

Several Social Democratic Party (SPD) politicians have called Jens Spahn’s proposals to exclude people from restaurants, gyms and other establishments who have not accepted a vaccine offer “impracticable” and say they risk undermining the public health campaign to curb the spread of the vaccine virus.

Spahn’s ministry presented the proposals to a meeting of the federal government and the heads of state and government of the 16 German federal states next week. He has argued that the measures are necessary to control a fourth wave.

In Germany, the infection rate has been rising steadily for a month. At the same time, vaccine adoption has slowed so much that the goal of getting 75% of the population vaccinated by the fall is unlikely to be achieved.

By Thursday, just under 54% of Germans had been fully vaccinated, while 62% had received at least one vaccination.

Spahn tweeted: “Getting a vaccine is a patriotic act: you not only protect yourself, but all of us as a society.”

He has advocated a so-called “3G” approach, in which only vaccinated people (vaccinated), checked (tested) or recovered from the virus (recovered) can dine in a restaurant, go to the gym or hairdresser, or take part in other activities. Should the infection rate deteriorate to the point that the health system is at risk, the government would reserve the right to restrict access to activities only to those who have been vaccinated or infected (so-called 2G).

Spahn has suggested that the current rules, such as wearing medical masks in public spaces including shops and transportation, social distancing, and ventilating work and school rooms, be maintained until at least next spring.

Starting in October, people will be billed for antigen testing, which was previously available for free, he said.

The head of the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, cited the criticism of Spahn’s plans. “Instead, we have to convince people,” she said.

Dietmar Woidke, the chairman of the state of Brandenburg, said that people who tested negative are still allowed to participate in events and meetings. “Nobody should be excluded,†he said.

Andreas Bovenschulte, Lord Mayor of the northern city of Bremen, said the plans were irresponsible. “I think it is wrong and legally invalid to exclude those who are not vaccinated from public life,” he said.

In a newspaper interview published on Thursday, Spahn tried to clarify his plans, which had leaked to major news agencies.

“For essential things such as trips on public transport, going to the town hall or visiting the hospital, this only has to be possible with a mask or a test,” he says said the Munich Mercury. “But for discos, visits to stadiums or the theater, in other words, places that are not essential to life, I can only imagine that entry is possible for those who have been vaccinated or who have been tested.”

Spahn came up with the idea of ​​offering unvaccinated people restricted access to some venues. “For example, 2,000 test persons could be present at a soccer game in a stadium in Bavaria, for which 30,000 are vaccinated,†he said.

If implemented, the plans would be among the strictest in Europe. Governments in France and Italy have introduced similar restrictions, for which they have been heavily criticized.

Christian Lindner, the head of the business-friendly FDP, which was the first to publicly criticize the plans, told the world: “Those who have not been vaccinated or recovered should be able to participate in normal social life as long as they produce a negative test result that is valid for that day. Anything else would amount to a disproportionate restriction of freedom. “

He said regional differences in the rate of infection mean that it is “wrong to tar the whole country with the same brush”.