Majority of Germans in Favor of Nightly Curfews

Fifty-six percent of all Germans believe there should be nightly curfews in the ongoing third Corona wave. This is part of the outcome of a YouGov poll. Some federal states already have curfews.

Berlin, April 2nd, 2021 (The Berlin Spectator) — A poll on Germany’s Corona policies which was conducted by the institute YouGov just produced interesting results: Far more than half of all Germans, 56 percent, believe nightly curfews should be implemented in the Corona situation Germany currently finds itself in. Only about one in three Germans, 37 percent, reject curfews. Younger Germans tend to oppose nightly curfews, while citizens above 55 years of age support them by a big majority.

Curfews in Some States

Supporters of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU are the staunchest proponents of nightly curfews. Seventy-one percent of them said they were in favor of a measure of this kind in the entire country. A majority among supporters of the center-left Greens, the center-left SPD, the far-left ‘Die Linke’ and the center-right FDP want curfews as well. Among supporters of the extremist right-wing AfD, the picture is different. Here, 56 percent of all respondents reject curfews.

Some states already put in place nightly curfews. In Hamburg, people who leave their homes between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. need a “valid reason”. For instance, they may go to work or back home after a late or night shift, they may move around to care for people or animals, to go to the pharmacy or to the doctor. Other than that, being outdoors, in public areas is forbidden during those hours.

Curfews and ‘Semi Curfews’

Baden-Württemberg, located in Germany’s south-west, has regional nightly curfews that depend on the situation. In the latest state ordinance the government in Stuttgart approved it says there will be nightly curfews in cities or counties in which the Incidence Number has been above 100 for three consecutive days, if other measures have not led to an improvement of the situation.

All relevant Corona numbers for Germany, and daily Corona updates, can be found in our Corona chronology.

The Senate in the city state of Berlin passed a far less complicated rule on Thursday: People may leave their homes between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. alone or in pairs. More than two people may not be together outdoors during those times. By implementing this ‘semi curfew’, the Berlin Senate intended to end parties in parks that have taken place a lot in the spring and summer of 2020. The problem just reappeared when the weather improved some days ago.

President Steinmeier Vaccinated

Four hundred and thirty days after the first Corona infection case was registered in Germany, meaning today, the Robert Koch Institute said there had been 21,888 new Coronavirus infection cases within 24 hours. This is about the level reported on Friday of last week. Germany’s Incidence Number decreased a little. It now stands at 134.0. At this moment, the Corona numbers seem to be plateauing. One of the biggest issues is that 88 percent of all newly infected persons in Germany carry the Corona mutation ‘B.1.1.7’, also known as the ‘British variant’ because it first appeared in Britain. It is more aggressive, more contagious and therefore more dangerous than the ‘old’ Corona variant.

Tomorrow, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will address the nation on the subject of Corona. On Thursday, he became the first leading politician to become vaccinated against Corona. Steinmeier got the AstraZeneca vaccine. This choice was probably not a coincidence, since there are issues with this product.

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