On the day Germany reported a record number of COVID-19 cases, the Bundestag tightened restrictions. Not all parliamentarians agree, in the first place the far-right AfD is against.
On Wednesday (12.01) a board with the test note for COVID-19 oriented the deputies towards this stand. This rule for parliamentarians comes exactly on the day when the Robert Koch Institute for Health Surveillance and Prophylaxis (RKI) communicated a new record of infections within a day, over 80,000 cases with COVID.
Against the background of the increase in cases of COVID-19, the German parliament on Wednesday (12.01) voted to impose stricter rules across the country, as well as to enter parliament. Deputies in order to enter the plenary hall and the meeting halls of the parliamentary groups and committees must, in case they have not received the boosting dose of the vaccine, present in addition to the vaccination document, or the certificate of cure from COVID, a negative antigen test.
Deputies who can not be vaccinated for health reasons can enter the plenary hall with a negative PCR test. But other MPs who have not been fully vaccinated are allowed to attend sessions only by staying in the public lodge. But even to enter these environments a negative antigen test is needed.
Fines are provided for those who do not want to adhere to these rules. The Bundestag administration plans fines of 1,000 euros for the first time and 2,000 euros if the violations are repeated. They may even be confronted with refusal of entry.
AfD against
Some of the AfD MPs were sitting in the public lodge, while others in their usual seats. But almost half of their seats in the hall were empty.
AfD MPs – both those sitting in the plenary hall and those in the public lodge interrupted Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s speech several times by holding up placards expressing their opposition to the austerity measures, which is in fact against the Bundestag -ut.
Unvaccinated MPs in the public lodge
Their placards read “freedom instead of disunity” – referring to the comment of AfD MP Bernd Baumann, who said that the measures taken are dividing not only society but also this parliament. “
Left Party MP Sahra Wagenknecht, who has openly stated that she has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, also criticizes the rules set at Wednesday’s session. “The ban on (unvaccinated) MPs from being present in the plenary hall instead of imposing tests on everyone is unreasonable in terms of epidemiology and also unconstitutional given the fact that the vaccine does not completely protect you from an infection.” told Wagenknecht news hub portal RND.
The AfD says it will file a lawsuit against the new regulation in the Bundestag. Alice Weidel, co-chair of the AfD, said that “the free mandate of the deputy is already limited by the new rules”.
‘Role role model’ for society
Andrew Ullmann, a Liberal Democrat (FDP) lawmaker and infectious disease doctor, dismissed the criticism: “These new rules in parliament are important to show people outside parliament that the same rules apply to us. “We have a responsibility to act here as an example,” Ullmann told DW.
The new rules in the Bundestag are the same as for bars and restaurants across the country.
All five parliamentary groups voted in favor of the new regulation, arguing that the aim is to ensure that the work continues unharmed.
“During Christmas we saw how some deputies attended the committee meetings even though they were tested positive. This led to the fact that due to the contact all the deputies were sent to quarantine,” Ullmann said. The Bundestag also applies strict rules for the use of the protective mask. Only FFP2 / N95 masks are now allowed throughout the building. Masks can only be removed when MPs refer to the dashboard./DW
