Since the beginning of November the Corona regulations came into effect and are valid in the whole country, according to the Federal Government decision dated from November 2nd. Since then, we live in a so-called lockdown light mode. Now the german Government has decided to shall extend the current regulations until the 20th of December.
In concrete terms this means for all of us that we have to continue living with the measures up to and including the 20th December. We will give you an overview of all the relevant measures below. The most important measure still is "to avoid all contacts that are not necessarily needed."
(© Christian Kruse)
An overview of the current Corona regulations:
Private Meetings: It is only allowed to meet with one other household (meaning two households in total, still). According to the new regulations private meetings are only permitted with maximum permissible of five people out of two different households. This measure is also valid in public spaces.
Face masks: Face masks are still compulsory in the whole city centre of Oldenburg, as well as in all enclosed rooms that are publicly available. The compulsory to wear a mask has been expanded: You also have to wear a mask in parking spaces in front of supermarkets and shops.
Lockdown light continues: The lockdown light measures continue and are still valid until the 20th December. This basically means there is no change when it comes to the (temporary) closure of all restaurants, bars, clubs, cafés, cinemas, theatres and museums. The libraries are still open, meaning the university library and the public library. Hairdressing salons are still open, while gyms, cosmetic studios and tattoo studios stay closed. Churches services are still allowed under strict conditions referring to hygiene specifications.
Travel Information: The following basically applies: It is recommended by the government to avoid all private and business trips that are not urgently necessary. If you still travel and if you are using the public transport system, it is important to keep the minimum distance of 1,5 meters to other passengers, if it's possible. If you travel to another country different regulations are valid, depending on the country you are travelling to. For further information you can visit the website of the "Auswärtiges Amt" under the following link: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise für Ihr Reiseland - Auswärtiges Amt (auswaertiges-amt.de). On their website you can find an overview of all the current risk areas and the respective regulations. You can also check under the following link Re-open EU (europa.eu) which measures are valid in your travel destination.
Corona News in Niedersachen: In Niedersachsen the number of infection rates is still high. The total number of infected people amounts to 72.534 people and 1.184 deaths (According to the most recent status of the 2nd December.) Therefor the infection rate is amounted to 0.91% in Niedersachsen. You can get an overview of the current cases under the following link Corona Zahlen für Niedersachsen - aktuelle Coronavirus Kennzahlen (corona-in-zahlen.de).
Christmas and New Year's Eve:
The festive season, meaning the time around Christmas until New Year's Eve, is regulated separately. During the time of the 23rd December until the 1st January 2021 you are allowed to meet with two other households (three in total) and the maximum number of people amounts to ten in public. The regulations of private meetings are not as strict when it comes to the amount of households. You can celebrate Christmas and New Year's eve with more than three other households if you want to. Just keep in mind that the maximum amount of ten people is still valid for private meetings and celebrations as well. Finally some good news for the festive season at least!
Fireworks on New Year's Eve are not allowed in public spaces - huge fireworks for the public are also prohibited.
Travelling during Christmas and New Year's Eve:
In the country:
First and Foremost: travelling during the Christmas season and New Year's Eve is not forbidden. There are specific rules however and the circumstances for travelling are still difficult. Hotels are still not allowed to accommodate touristic guests. If you wanna visit family members during Christmas in another federal state of the country, most states (Berlin, NRW, Niedersachsen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Baden-Württemberg, Sachsen und Sachsen-Anhalt) have already gave the permission for hotels to accommodate guests, if that's the case. If you wanna travel with the "DB" there will be some innovations for the festive season as well. The "DB" is planning to insert extra trains between the 18th December and the 27th December, to minimise further risks of infection for passengers. If you wanna travel during this time it is recommendable to book your train tickets as soon as possible this year.
Flixbus has announced that they want to offer trips again upon the 17th December. This could be a good alternative to the "DB". You can find their offer on the following website: FlixBus → Günstig mit dem Fernbus reisen.
Travelling abroad:
Who wants to travel abroad during the festive season has only limited options to do so. Some neighbour countries like Denmark and the Czech Republic have already closed their borders for (german) tourists. Other countries only allow the entry to the country with satisfactory reasons. If you want more information about the travelling situation in countries abroad, you can go to the following website: Urlaub an Weihnachten: Corona-Regeln für Reisende | ADAC
Quarantine situation after travelling:
Even though the opportunities for travelling are limited at the moment, it is still possible to do so. If you travel to risk areas you have to quarantine afterwards. This measure is supposed to help minimising the distribution of the virus. The "Gesundheitsamt" can order a quarantine for 14 days after you travelled to a risk area or if you had contact (15 minutes minimum) with someone who is corona positive. During quarantine you are not allowed to leave the house or get visit. If you demonstrably did have contact with a corona infected person you can get tested. Only if this is the case, the test will be free of charge, otherwise you would have to pay for a test. You can get an overview of the test centres for Covid19 in Oldenburg under this link: Corona Testzentrum Oldenburg - Teststellen für Covid-19 (eu-vertretung.de)
P.s.: If you find yourself in a mandatory Quarantine and need help with shopping trips or other personal necessities, we can gladly help! Feel free to contact us at hgas@uol.de, or PM our instagram @hgasuol.
Planned "Impfzentrum"/Vaccination centre in Oldenburg:
Even though we have to deal with many regulations at the moment and 2020 was a tough year for all of us, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The City of Oldenburg has provided a financial basis for the establishment of a new vaccination centre in the Weser-Ems Hallen. The City is still planning the vaccination centre-situation for the beginning of next year, but Jürgen Krogmann, major of the city, is highly confident regarding to the opening of the vaccination centre. We will do our best to promptly inform you when there is any news and keep you updated with the situation.
If you have any questions, you can always contact us via Email hgas@uol.de.
Keep in mind that the restrictions are time sensitive. We will update you if there are any news around the topic. Don't hesitate to contact us if you need more information or help in the current situation. In the meantime stay healthy.
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