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School - Mouth and nose protection from grade 7

If the incidence value of 50 infected persons per 100,000 inhabitants is exceeded within 7 days, then pupils in secondary schools from grade 7 on should wear the mouth and nose protector. This is mandatory.

School - further measures only for super hotspots

One of the most intensively discussed questions in the run-up to the event was what will happen to the schools. Will they remain open or will they be closed. Besides the compulsory mask, hybrid teaching was also discussed.

It is now clear that, as a rule, little changes. Only from an incidence value of 200 corona-infected persons per 100,000 inhabitants onwards do further countermeasures have to be taken. However, there is no concrete regulation as to what these measures should be. The resolution states that other teaching models should be used if necessary. This could be, for example, so-called hybrid teaching. Hybrid teaching means that classes are taught alternately at school and at home. The classes can be halved.

Graduating classes are excluded from the changeover to hybrid education. This means that those who are aiming for vocational training maturity, an intermediate school-leaving certificate or the Abitur next year will continue to be taught as normal at school.

In fact, this means that the schools can, by and large, teach without further restrictions as long as the incidence value does not exceed the mark of 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within 7 days.

Of course, individual students, entire classes or even the entire school will be sent to quarantine if a corona case occurs at a school. In this case the parents have to look for themselves and clarify how they deal with the situation and, if necessary, how they manage to reconcile family and work. If the employer is not flexible in dealing with it or is unable to deal with it, you will have the extra days of child sickness if you have not yet exhausted them. Other options are also possible: take a vacation or do short-time work with children or.

However, it is not satisfactory from the point of view of families and parents: we have had repeated calls on the hotline from parents asking what they can do and how they can ensure that their children are cared for despite their obligation to work. There are also situations in which parents are not able to attend job interviews and therefore of course do not get the new job.

Christmas holidays from 19 December

The school holidays begin nationwide on 19 December, which is the Saturday before Christmas. This means for parents that they have to provide child care if they do not go to the day care centre.

The chancellor and the prime ministers did not mention any regulations on how parents should be supported in this. They merely pointed out that employers should allow employees to have a home office if at all possible. But otherwise: Nothing.

2 households up to a maximum of 5 persons may meet - not counting children under 14 years of age

Instead of 10 people, a maximum of five people from two households may now meet. This is a clear tightening of the previous regulations. Children under 14 years of age are not counted in the number of persons. This in turn allows some leeway. In other words, two adults and one young person can meet, plus any number of younger children.

The exciting question is, what will follow for younger children in general?!

Meeting friends - no longer an issue for children! Or is it?

After there had been intensive discussions about the fact that children should only meet with one steady other child, this was no longer an issue. However, it is unclear how the above statement that children under 14 years of age are not counted when two households meet is to be interpreted in general: It is clear that any number of children who are no older than 13 years of age and come from two households can meet - even if no adults are present.

It is not clearly regulated whether several children can also meet, if they come from three or four households, for example. If one interprets the guidelines generously, then this could be possible. In this case, even the children's birthday could be celebrated again, provided that there are no more than five older people from no more than two households.

However, it should also be mentioned that the press conference pointed out that any contact that is not necessary should be avoided if possible.

Celebrate your child's birthday in the kindergarten or with your classmates

Since children have been able to go to kindergarten without any restrictions so far, as long as no corona cases have occurred there, it is in any case possible to celebrate the child's birthday there. Of course, only if the kindergarten plays along.

If the regulations on counting children under the age of 14 are interpreted generously, it should be possible to celebrate a child's birthday independently of kindergarten or school. However, this is not clearly regulated.

Christmas

Special arrangements apply for Christmas: between 23.12.2020 and 1.1.2021 up to 10 people may meet. They may also come from more than two households. Children under the age of 14 are not counted.

If necessary, the federal states may issue special regulations. Our website Corona-was-darf-ich provides information about further regulations in the federal states..

Published on 26.11.2020