The southern German state of Baden-Württemberg has proposed severe restrictions for unvaccinated people even if they can produce a negative coronavirus test, Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday.
“If 200 to 250 intensive care beds are occupied, we will consider introducing initial contact restrictions for unvaccinated adults,” said Uwe Lahl, head of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Baden-Württemberg.
If the measure passes, unvaccinated people will be denied access to restaurants or concerts even with a negative test, the magazine reported, and will be required to have limited contact with other people, as mandated during previous lockdowns.
“If it hits the intensive care units, you have to act,” said Thomas Strobl, Deputy Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg. “It would be wrong then to hold everyone jointly liable, including those who have been vaccinated — that is why there will be different rules for those who have not been vaccinated than for those who have been vaccinated.”
A supporter holds a placard with the lettering ‘Lockdown never again’ while attending a rally of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for the launch of the electoral campaign ahead of the September 26 federal elections, in Schwerin, northern Germany. (JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty)
Currently some 100 coronavirus patients are being treated in intensive care in Baden-Württemberg. According to the State Health Office, the limit proposed by Lahl could be reached in a week. At the height of the pandemic, over 600 coronavirus ICU patients were cared for in the state.
Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek has voiced support for the Baden-Württemberg proposal, insisting it is right to think about measures such as contact restrictions for the unvaccinated “to protect the health system.”
Others have asserted that the proposed measures are overly harsh and even unconstitutional.
“There are certainly milder measures than the proposed plan of blanket contact restrictions for unvaccinated people, such as tests,” said Wolfgang Kubicki, Vice President of the Bundestag and Vice Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), adding that if the state adopts the harsher measures, it acts unconstitutionally.