Heil is promoting training bonuses There should be no “Corona vintage”

Status: 06/22/2021 05:07

The second year of training since the beginning of the corona pandemic begins in September. The federal government supports training companies with training bonuses, but Labor Minister Heil is still worried about a corona kink on the apprenticeship market. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil sees the German training market facing a critical phase after months of the pandemic. The number of apprenticeships like applicants had already decreased last year, said the minister. Figures from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training prove this. The test comes this summer, “Heil told the Funke media group. “We are currently fighting the clock as the training year begins on September 1st.” It is clear: “We are not allowed to allow a Corona class in training.”

6000 euros bonus per apprenticeship position

Many companies were hesitant at the moment because they believed they could not afford apprentices at the moment. Heil called on companies to make greater use of state support offers such as the training bonus. The bonus has been approved for almost 40,000 training positions since last summer.

Heil pointed out that the new protective umbrella for training has been in place since the beginning of June. The premium was also doubled in March. Companies affected by a pandemic that keep their training quota have been receiving EUR 4,000 per apprenticeship position since the beginning of June, and EUR 6,000 for new trainee positions.

According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, the program has a total volume of 410 million euros for the current year. By mid-June, around 88 million euros, almost a fifth, had been paid out

EY study Corona is changing the pharmaceutical industry

Status: June 21, 2021 3:53 p.m.

The corona pandemic did not give the pharmaceutical industry a boost in 2020, it actually slowed it down. According to an EY study, only cancer medicine and ophthalmology are booming.

by Notker Blechner, tagesschau.de

Is “Big Pharma” but not a beneficiary of the corona pandemic? The management consultants from EY (formerly Ernst & Young) are convinced: “The corona crisis was not a growth driver in the past year, on the contrary, it led to higher spending on research and development”, says Klaus Ort, head of EY’s Life Sciences & Healthcare market segment in German-speaking countries. “The pharmaceutical industry wasn’t a big winner from the pandemic.” In fact, sales of the world’s 21 largest pharmaceutical companies rose by just 4.4 percent in 2020. In the year before the pandemic, the increase was almost 13 percent. However, this was also due to a billion-dollar takeover in the industry.

Corona slowed growth

According to Ort, Corona led to delays in various treatments. Among other things, the fact that fewer operations were carried out in hospitals had a negative effect. This slowed down sales of the corresponding drugs and therapies. In the case of funds for heart and circulatory diseases, for example, revenues stagnated after having increased significantly in 2019. Sales of therapeutics for respiratory diseases even fell. Place refers to the wearing of face and nose masks as the reason, which also prevented infectious diseases such as flu.

Corona surge will not come until 2021

With sales of 26.4 billion euros, vaccines only made up a good five percent of total sales last year “Big Pharma” out. That should change in 2021. The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has already announced that the corona vaccine Comirnaty will flush a good 15 billion dollars into the coffers. That’s a good quarter of Pfizer’s total sales. “At Pfizer, Corona will only have an impact on sales in 2021″says EY expert Ort.

Pfizer partner BioNTech also expects an enormous growth spurt in new, unimagined dimensions this year. The Mainz corona vaccine pioneer expects sales of 9.8 billion euros for 2021 and should thus become the third largest German pharmaceutical manufacturer – behind Bayer and Boehringer.

766 Covid vaccines and therapeutics pending

EY was unable to quantify how high the market volume for combating corona is. However, the management consultants see huge potential. They refer to 260 vaccine candidates who are currently in studies. So far, only four vaccines have been approved. “The four big players dominate the market and will continue to do so”, predicts Alexander Nuyken, co-author of the study and head of life sciences transaction consulting at EY. Because of the increasing number of mutations, the hurdle for approval will become higher and higher in future.

EY has found out that 506 therapeutics are in the pipeline for drugs against Covid-19. However, no means of this have yet managed to obtain approval. “Despite all the vaccination euphoria, one should not lose sight of this fact”, warns EY expert Nuyken. People are still dying of Covid-19 due to a lack of medication. After all, the number of drug candidates has doubled since the end of 2020. And: 162 therapeutics are in the clinical phase III study. The most promising means is considered the cortisone drug dexamethasone . According to a large-scale study by Oxford University, it lowers the death rate of seriously ill Covid patients by at least 25 percent. In the initial phase of the corona disease, Remdesivir, which was the first Covid drug approved in Europe, also works – albeit only under certain conditions.

Price drop for corona tests

The EY experts see the market for corona tests as completely oversaturated. There are currently 1,021 diagnostic tests on the market, more than half of which are so-called immunassays (including rapid antigen tests). “We see a drop in prices here”says EY expert Nuyken. Individual drugstore and supermarket chains are now offering self-tests for 80 cents.

Thanks to Corona, the vaccine business has experienced a renaissance, emphasize the EY experts. The biotech sector in particular benefits. Due to new trends such as digitization as well as gene and cell therapies, it is on the threshold of further growth. According to EY, the German biotechs received more capital in 2020 than ever before.

Cancer medicine is the major growth driver

The main market for “Big Pharma” but oncology remains. In the fight against cancer, the industry has a turnover of over 200 billion euros, which is more than a third of the entire pharmaceutical business. In 2020, the world’s 21 largest pharmaceutical companies increased their sales in oncology by 14.6 percent. Experts are also predicting growth rates of ten percent for the coming years. Only ophthalmology promises similarly strong growth. Because of the trend towards home office in the pandemic, myopia increased in many people, especially children.

Biotech companies could provide a new boost in the cancer market. Amgen recently made a breakthrough in cancer therapy with Lumakras. For the first time, an active ingredient was approved that is directed against mutations in the KRAS gene. The KRAS mutations are one of the most common causes of pancreatic, colon and lung cancers. The mRNA technology that BioNTech and Moderna are successfully using in the fight against Corona also promises huge potential for cancer research.

Hope in the fight against Alzheimer’s

Biotech could also bring progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s. In early June, Biogen received “green light” for the active ingredient aducanumab . It is the first Alzheimer’s drug to receive FDA approval since 2003.

According to the study by EY, the Swiss Roche Group has maintained its top position in the ranking of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies with 43.4 billion euros. AbbVie climbed to second place – just ahead of Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. Pfizer slipped to sixth place in the rankings. Due to the corona surge, the US pharmaceutical giant should regain the top spot in 2021

Debate about opening times Shop on Sundays until Christmas?

Status: 19.06.2021 2:58 p.m.

Brick-and-mortar retail suffered a lot in the pandemic, while online retailing gained tremendously. DIW, Städtebund and the trade association HDE are now calling for more flexible opening times to help stimulate the economy. The union ver.di warns. The President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher, calls for opening hours to be relaxed in view of the difficult situation of many retailers. “A liberalization of the shop opening times is urgently required so that the stationary retail trade can assert itself in the competition against the online trade and secure jobs,” said Fratzscher to the “Handelsblatt”.

Flexibility required until the end of the year

The economist stood by the side of the trade association HDE. He had suggested leaving the shops open on Sundays at least until the end of the year. This gives retailers the chance to make up at least part of the sales lost during the lockdowns and would also be a signal to people that the city centers are open again. In addition, there should be more reliable rules for a legally secure occasional Sunday opening.

The Association of Towns and Municipalities also spoke out in favor of it. “We now have to do everything we can to ensure that our inner cities and town centers do not become deserted,” said managing director Gerd Landsberg to the “Handelsblatt”. “It would be a positive signal to allow additional Sunday opening hours.” Landsberg referred to the threatening situation of the trade and the danger for hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“Small but important signal”

Over 100,000 retail stores could close or not open at all, Landsberg said. This would put almost 500,000 jobs at stake. The online trade, on the other hand, was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and was able to increase its sales to over 72 billion euros last year due to the pandemic. Additional Sunday opening hours would therefore be “a small but important signal that the city centers and town centers have a future”.

“Development cannot be reversed”

Fratzscher explained: “Due to the pandemic, there was a massive shift towards online trading, which will not be completely reversed even after the pandemic.” However, fair competitive conditions did not mean that people could shop online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but stationary retail trade had a “tight corset” and had to be closed on Sundays.

“Instead of sanctions or charges for online trading, politics should make stationary retailing more attractive,” said Fratzscher. In addition to more flexible shopping times, this also includes modern urban concepts that make inner cities more attractive again. “This not only has an immediate economic value, it is also very important from a social and societal perspective that people meet and come into contact with one another.”

Ver.di sees “general attack”

The FDP already supported the HDE’s advance as a suitable economic aid for the retail sector. The trade union ver.di, on the other hand, rejected him as an overly short-sighted “general attack on the trade workers, their families, but also on the Basic Law”.

Bundesbank survey Germans are skeptical about the digital euro

Status: 16.06.2021 1:05 p.m.

The corona pandemic has further reduced the use of cash, also in Germany. According to the Bundesbank, Germans would be skeptical about the introduction of a digital euro. The European Central Bank (ECB) wants to decide this summer whether the introduction of a digital euro should be seriously tackled. This was announced last week by Burkhard Balz, board member of the Bundesbank. But the majority of Germans are skeptical about this project. Around 56 percent of all households surveyed were cautious in their initial assessment of the possible introduction of a digital euro, said Bundesbank board member Johannes Beermann yesterday in a speech at a cash conference of the German central bank. “Many of them are not convinced that this would offer sufficient additional value compared to the existing range of payment options.” Among other things, Beermann is responsible for the issue of cash on the board of the Bundesbank.

01/21/2021

Largely unknown project

In addition, according to the survey results, 77 percent of all respondents have never heard of or read about a digital euro. And those who know about it, fear in the first place that their personal data is not adequately protected. The security of the new means of payment also raises questions among the population, as does its availability within the entire euro area and the avoidance of additional costs. According to the central bankers, the digital euro could help on the way to the Smart Economy or Economy 4.0 by enabling programmable payments and supporting processing using modern technologies. However, the Bundesbank executive also emphasizes that the digital euro is not intended to be a substitute for cash. It is about a complementary offer. “As long as there is demand for cash, we will also offer cash,” said Balz.

04/16/2021

Cash as a safety cushion

ECB Director Fabio Panetta presented surprising figures on cash use during the Corona crisis at the Bundesbank conference. Accordingly, during the pandemic, people in the euro zone increasingly used cash as a safety cushion, although they made greater use of cashless forms of payment when shopping. According to Panetta, the demand for euro banknotes increased by 190 billion euros between March 2020 and May 2021. When comparing the volumes issued in spring 2020 with the average volumes of the past five years, this is an increase of four percent. At the same time, during the pandemic, significantly less purchases were made with notes and coins. “This seeming paradox – an increasing demand for banknotes despite a decline in cash payments – may be explained by the fact that people used cash as a means of dealing with uncertainty during the crisis,” said Panetta. Recent estimates suggest that even before the pandemic, only around 20 percent of the total amount of euro banknotes in circulation in the euro area had been actively used for payments. Panetta therefore assumes that euro notes and coins will survive the digital revolution.

Digital consumer protection Vulnerabilities in health apps

As of: 16.06.2021 1:53 p.m.

In the corona pandemic, health apps have gained many users. For some, however, there is a lack of data protection. This was the result of a study by the Federal Office for Information Security. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) found numerous security gaps in an investigation of health apps. According to a BSI report, six out of seven thoroughly tested apps transmitted passwords in clear text to authentication services. None of the apps fully met the security requirements of the BSI guidelines for health apps. The BSI did not provide the names of the apps examined.

Exclusive 03/10/2021

Personal data is not adequately protected

“From the point of view of technical IT security, this result must at least be rated as critical, especially in view of the fact that a significant proportion of the apps process sensitive and particularly sensitive data”, criticized the office for taking care of the data security of the federal government. “Because, according to the findings of the study, this does not adequately protect user data against attacks.” The BSI checked the health apps as part of the first report on digital consumer protection 2020, which, due to the corona pandemic, focused on digital health offers.

background 07/11/2019

damage “first of all manageable”

The BSI expert Nicolas Stöcker described the danger for users of the criticized apps when exploiting the identified loopholes as “first of all manageable”. If an attack took place, it would initially only affect a single person. “It would be worse if the backend, where the data is kept, were also insecure.” The authority has a corresponding further investigation for the future “on the screen”, says Stocker. However, BSI President Arne Schönbohm warned that the deficiencies found were also dangerous: “Every gap that is there, every weak point that is there has somehow been exploited at some point.” They are currently working with the app providers to close the gaps. “If we see that this is not fixed, then we reserve the right to issue a corresponding product warning”said Schönbohm.

European market China is significantly reducing investments

Status: 16.06.2021 12:53 p.m.

China invested less in the European market in 2020 than it has for ten years. Great Britain was particularly hard hit. It’s not just the corona pandemic to blame. China significantly reduced its direct investment in the European market last year. According to a joint report by the American Rhodium Group and Merics in Berlin, direct investments by the People’s Republic in the EU and Great Britain amounted to around 6.5 billion euros in 2020. Compared to the previous year, a decrease of 45 percent. That is the lowest level in ten years.

June 16, 2021

Great minus for Great Britain

In the past year, even 77 percent less Chinese direct investment flowed into Great Britain. Even so, the UK remains one of the top three destinations for China’s investments in Europe – alongside France and Germany at the top. The three most important areas for Chinese investors were infrastructure, information and communication technology and electronics. Poland, promoted by a major acquisition, was a major new recipient last year.

01/14/2021

Stricter controls on Chinese purchases

However, many Chinese purchases are now being scrutinized more closely by the EU member states than in the past. Several planned takeovers did not materialize. In Germany, for example, the Federal Ministry of Economics stopped the planned sale of the radar specialist IMST from North Rhine-Westphalia to a Chinese company with links to the military. Several EU countries, including Italy, France, Poland and Hungary, had tightened their inspection mechanisms for direct investments from third countries last year. Investments continued to decline in the current year, according to the report. The reasons are the pandemic, high hurdles for capital outflows from China and tighter controls in the EU.

10/01/2019

Sanctions dispute exacerbates tensions

In addition, the tense relations between China and the EU are likely to play a role. That’s the way it is Investment protection agreements agreed in December between the EU and the People’s Republic is currently on hold and ratification by the European Parliament seems to be moving further and further into the distance. Another point of contention remains the human rights violations in China: In March, the EU Sanctions imposed on Chinese politicians and an organization for the first time in 30 years . The EU accuses China of violating human rights by suppressing the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region. As a result of the European punitive measures, China also reacted shortly thereafter with sanctions against European institutions and several EU politicians . With information from Ruth Kirchner, ARD Studio Beijing, currently Berlin

ILO report millions Domestic servants are exploited

Status: 15.06.2021 6:05 p.m.

Working conditions for domestic workers have continued to deteriorate during the corona pandemic, according to a report by the International Labor Organization. Women are most affected. Ten years after a UN Protection Convention was passed, millions of domestic workers are still suffering from exploitation and poor working conditions. The Corona crisis has made the precarious social situation of children, women and men even worse, said the International Labor Organization (ILO) in a report. Many would have lost their jobs during the global pandemic. While, according to the report, the situation for many employees visibly improved before the pandemic, the conditions are now often worse again. ILO Director General Guy Ryder therefore called for all domestic workers to receive fair contracts as well as job and social protection.

06/02/2021

More than a third without protection

More than a third of all 76 million domestic workers had no protection whatsoever, especially in Asia and in Arab countries, according to the ILO chief. According to the information, almost 58 million of the 76 million domestic workers worldwide are women. The ILO, which is part of the United Nations, passed the Convention for the Protection of Domestic Workers in mid-June 2011. It applies to employees who cook, clean, look after children and the elderly and do other work in other households.

05.12.2018

UN convention is ignored

According to the convention, domestic workers should receive a minimum wage, paid rest periods and holidays. They also have a right to secure jobs that do not endanger their health. The agreement also prohibits any form of harassment, abuse and violence. The employees have the right to an employment contract – if the contract is breached, they should be able to sue in court. It is also stated that domestic workers under the age of 18 enjoy special protection. However, the regulations made in the UN Convention are often ignored. Domestic workers are often employed informally and so cannot exercise their rights.

Corona pandemic Pfizer trials vaccine on young children

As of: June 9th, 2021 8:38 pm

BioNTech and Pfizer also want their vaccine approved for children under 12 years of age. The first studies on this have already started. The product will soon also be tested on babies. From Antje Passenheim, ARD Studio New York BioNTech and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer are advancing the development of their Covid-19 vaccine for use in younger children. As Pfizer announced in New York, the group has expanded its clinical study to children under twelve years of age.

Admission already in October?

In the first tests, a small number of minors were given different doses of the vaccine. According to Pfizer, around 4,500 children between the ages of six months and eleven will now take part in studies in more than 90 facilities in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain. Tests on five to eleven year olds began this week. They receive either a placebo or two doses of ten micrograms each. This corresponds to a third of the dose that adolescents and adults receive. Pfizer expects to get US approval for five- to eleven-year-olds by October. In a few weeks, children aged six months and over will be brought in for a study. These should only receive three micrograms per vaccination. A short time later, the group wants to apply for approval for children up to five years of age.

Severe disease courses in children are rare

Pfizer sells the serum developed by BioNTech, a Mainz-based company. Since children are generally less likely to get seriously ill with Covid compared to adults, the group relies on a lower dose vaccination for younger children, which should also have fewer side effects. In the European Union, the USA and Canada, the vaccine is already approved for children from the age of twelve and is sometimes used. In the United States, nearly seven million teenagers have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to health officials.

From Gisela Staiger, BR The corona pandemic has made it difficult for many refugees to gain a foothold in the labor market. A current study by the Nuremberg Institute for Employment Research (IAB) shows the reasons and reveals the dimensions of the problem: A comparison of December 2019 and 2020 shows that unemployment in the population as a whole rose by just one percentage point within one year . By contrast, unemployment among refugees rose by 2.7 percentage points.

Lockdown makes career entry difficult

Mariam Alashkar is one of those who suffered. The Syrian is a single parent and is looking for an apprenticeship in the medical field. In February 2020, the mother of a four-year-old daughter successfully completed her language course at B2 level. But the time shortly before the first lockdown was extremely bad for starting a career. She writes two applications a week, says Alashkar. The yield is sobering: So far, no one has responded to their letters. In her home country, the 33-year-old first worked in tourism, then as a journalist for a Syrian television station. Now she is further deepening her language skills in order to be fit for the German job market. But their path is still rocky. “I’m ambitious, I had a lot of dreams in Germany,” she says. “I thought: If I finish B2, I’ll find a job straight away, but then Corona came and destroyed everything I had planned.”

IAB study: stopping language courses jointly responsible

According to the IAB study, the pandemic-related suspension of language courses and qualifications in particular led to an above-average increase in unemployment among refugees. According to IAB migration expert Herbert Brücker, the institute had expected that without the pandemic, the employment rate of refugees would have risen by five to eight percentage points in 2020. In reality, however, the rate only increased by one percentage point. “In this respect, one can say that integration has been interrupted. This applies to both the training and the job market,” says Brücker.

Expert: The more time goes by, the worse it gets

For Brücker, Alashkar is a typical example of the current phenomenon among refugees in Germany: “This is precisely the group of people who would have had a very good chance of entering the job market in 2020 or 2021. And these opportunities were able to materialize through the Do not realize the pandemic. ” The longer people have to wait, the greater the risk that motivation and related qualifications such as language skills can be lost. And that makes the subsequent labor market integration more difficult. “In this respect, the pandemic is a particularly tragic event for the refugees.” Alashkar has been moving into Hartz IV for almost a year and a half. The Syrian hopes that the easing will also increase her chances. She has a childcare place for her daughter and could get started at any time. If there was an answer to your applications.

What are employers now obliged to do?

All employees who do not work exclusively at home must be offered a corona test in their companies on a regular basis. The ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Labor enables self-tests as well as quick tests in which trained personnel take a smear. It is only stipulated that the tests must be used to directly detect the pathogen of the coronavirus.

How often do tests have to be offered?

As a rule, employees who do not work in the home office must be offered at least one corona test per calendar week according to the regulation. Two test offers per week are expressly required for groups with an increased risk of infection. This affects, among other things, staff with many personal customer contacts, employees who are housed in shared accommodation, as well as employees who perform body-friendly services – for example in cosmetic studios and massage parlors.

Is there a test requirement for the staff?

No. It is a test offer obligation for employers. In principle, employees are free to accept these offers or not. The Federal Ministry of Labor argues that the legal hurdles for compulsory testing are too high. “The obligation to cooperate of employees in occupational safety would not cover such a test obligation,” said a ministry spokesman. However, the federal government has called for employers to take advantage of the test offers.

How do the companies have to implement the obligation?

The employers must make the tests available and document that they have purchased the tests or offer appropriate test capacities. However, you do not have to document that your employees make use of them. It is therefore actually sufficient to send self-tests home to employees or to make self-tests available to everyone in the company.

Who pays for the tests?

The employers have to bear the costs for the tests offered. According to its own information, the federal government expects that the test offers initially required by the end of June will cost 130 euros per employee. Companies that are particularly burdened can, however, claim the expenses as part of an application for bridging aid.

What should the tests bring?

The tests are designed to help detect corona infections in people who do not yet show any symptoms or no clear symptoms. However, a negative test result is no guarantee that the person concerned is not infected. Even if handled correctly, a negative test is “just less likely” to be contagious to others, explains the Robert Koch Institute. Against this background, the ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Labor justifies the new obligation with the aim of “reducing the operational SARS-CoV-2 infection risk”. According to the current status, negative test results are only meaningful for the current day. Therefore, even before the regulation came into force, there was criticism that one or two tests per week were not sufficient.

Why is the federal government introducing compulsory testing?

The federal government did not consider the implementation of the test offers of the companies on the basis of the voluntary commitment to be sufficient. In the debate about the implementation of the test offers in practice, the various sides cited different numbers. On April 8, the federal government published the results of a survey carried out on its behalf. It came to the result that 69 percent of the companies and around 70 percent of the employees either already received regular test offers or these should follow shortly. This proportion was well below the aforementioned target of 90 percent. Two days earlier, the major trade associations had published their own figures, according to which 80 to 90 percent of the companies were already offering tests or were preparing to do so immediately.

What criticism is there from the employer?

Leading trade associations such as the Federation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) describe the mandatory test offers as a “declaration of mistrust towards companies”. The test requirement is criticized as “another bureaucratic burden”. In addition, various associations stated that there were problems, especially for smaller companies, in obtaining sufficient quantities of the required tests.

The people in large parts of Germany have to adjust to exit restrictions and closed shops according to nationally binding guidelines. The Federal Cabinet has decided to change the Infection Protection Act accordingly. However, the Bundestag does not want to pass the so-called Corona emergency brake in a fast-track process – it learned that ARD capital studio from coalition circles. Accordingly, the parliamentary groups do not want to waive certain deliberation deadlines, which is possible in principle and which would have made it possible for a parliamentary resolution to be passed this week. The amendment to the Infection Protection Act includes, among other things, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. if the seven-day incidence is over 100 on three consecutive days in a rural district or urban district. This means that within a week there are more than 100 newly infected people for every 100,000 inhabitants. In these cases, members of a household are only allowed to meet with one other person. A maximum of five people can come together, not including children under 14 years of age.

Requirements for shop closings

The opening of cultural and leisure facilities such as theaters, museums or zoos will then be prohibited, as will accommodation offers for tourist purposes. Shops that do not serve daily needs also have to close again. Food retailers, beverage stores, health food stores, baby specialty stores, pharmacies, medical supply stores, drug stores, opticians, hearing aid acousticians, gas stations, newspaper sales outlets, bookstores, flower shops, pet stores, animal feed markets and garden centers are to be excluded. According to the resolution, services that serve medical, therapeutic, nursing or pastoral purposes as well as hairdressers – each with a mask – should be opened. The practice of sport should only be allowed in the form of contactless practice of individual sports. They should be allowed to be exercised alone, in pairs or with members of your own household. There are also exceptions for the competition and training operations of professional athletes and competitive athletes of the national and state squads, but only without spectators.

For schools incidence of 200 relevant

Precise lessons should only be permitted with two corona tests per week. The schools do not have to stop their face-to-face teaching, however, if the incidence value of 200 cases has been exceeded for three consecutive days. This also applies to vocational schools, universities, adult education institutions and similar institutions. Exceptions for graduating classes and special needs schools are possible. The brake also applies to daycare centers, but the federal states can enable emergency care. The cabinet also decided to increase the paid childhood days per parent from the current 20 to 30 days. Parents can also take advantage of these childhood illness days to look after their children when schools and daycare centers are closed.

Merkel: “Ambiguities are over”

Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the planned federal law in a statement: The nationwide uniform “emergency brake” was “overdue”. It is true that the citizens understand that measures differ from region to region. According to the Chancellor, however, ambiguities about “what, when and where” will be a thing of the past with the new legal regulation. With the new law, the “emergency brake” is no longer a “matter of interpretation”. The decision on the law is an “equally important and urgent decision on how to proceed in the corona pandemic”. Merkel emphasized once again that the situation was serious and that everyone should take it seriously. “We mustn’t abandon the doctors and nurses who have been giving everything for over a year, we have to help them.” All measures would have the “only goal of leading our whole country out of the phase of steadily increasing numbers of infections, the filling intensive care units and the shockingly high daily number of corona deaths.” Merkel thanked the citizens for “their patience, insight and care for others”. “We have already managed to bring the numbers down to a controllable level and we will do that again,” said the Chancellor. The cabinet proposal is then to be discussed in the coalition groups. The new rules should then be decided by the Bundestag in an accelerated procedure, if possible, and passed through the Bundesrat. However, the express consent of the regional chamber is not required. At most, the Federal Council could raise an objection.

The law is to apply for a limited period of time

Overall, the amendment to the law should only apply for the duration of the determination by the Bundestag of an epidemic situation of national significance. This is currently June 30th.

In Germany, companies should in future have to offer their employees corona tests. The SPD declared that there was consensus in the coalition. Accordingly, the federal government is striving for a package solution: The corresponding change to the occupational health and safety ordinance is to be initiated together with the planned amendment to the Infection Protection Act in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

What is specifically planned?

The draft of the Ministerial Ordinance by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil is based on this ARD capital studio in front. Accordingly, it is about a test offer obligation for companies – there should be no test obligation for employees. Every employee who does not work in the home office should initially receive one test per week from the employer. If you have a lot of contacts, you should get two tests.

What does that mean for companies?

The employers have to make the tests available – but they do not have to document that their employees also use them. It would therefore be sufficient to simply send self-tests home to employees or to deposit self-tests in the office so that they are accessible to everyone. The CDU Economic Council expects the tests to cost German companies more than seven billion euros a month. Some small and medium-sized businesses couldn’t afford the hassle. Companies that have been badly hit by the Corona crisis can count the expenses for the tests as a cost item for the bridging aid.

What should the tests bring?

The quick or self-tests are intended to help detect corona infected people who do not yet feel any clear symptoms. According to scientists, however, they cannot rule out an infection. Even when used correctly, a negative test is “just less likely” to be contagious to others, explains the Robert Koch Institute. Especially with infected people without symptoms there is a risk of false-negative results. It is unclear whether you are then contagious to others or not. The test results are also only meaningful for about a day. Many people therefore doubt whether a weekly test in the office is sufficient.

How many companies already offer tests?

According to a survey commissioned by the federal government, 61 percent of employees recently had an employer who offers corona tests. Other employers had promised the employees tests. If you add this group, around 70 percent of employees received a test offer or at least it was announced to them. The federal government does not consider this to be sufficient and has so far given 90 percent as the target.

How do the companies get the tests?

In a letter to the Chancellery, the major business associations emphasized that every third company reported difficulties with availability. The federal and state governments have already reserved many of the tests on the market for students. The associations are therefore calling for tests from unused contingents to be made available to companies at low cost. Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said at the weekend in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “There are now enough tests available on the market. But you have to take care of them. Anyone who is just starting to get offers now probably needs a start-up time of two or three weeks. But no more than that. ”

How high is the risk of infection in the office anyway?

Leading aerosol researchers from Germany emphasize that Sars-CoV-2 is transmitted “almost without exception” indoors. So you can get infected not only when you meet an infected person directly, but also in an empty, poorly ventilated room in which an infected person was previously. Berlin mobility researchers are therefore demanding that multi-person offices can only be entered with a valid rapid test or after vaccination – or everyone would have to wear an FFP2 mask.

Why has the coalition now apparently agreed on the subject?

Above all, the SPD had insisted that the companies be obliged to the test offers. At first, the Union did not want that. Now, according to reports, she is taking part because she does not want to jeopardize another project: In the package with the mandatory test offer, the nationwide rules in the fight against the third corona wave are to be decided in the cabinet.

What does the economy say about it?

Business associations reject the measure. BDA General Manager Steffen Kampeter speaks of a “declaration of no confidence in the company and its employees”. The obligation to test leads to more bureaucracy and discredits the voluntary commitment of companies.

There is an agreement in the coalition to oblige companies to offer a quick test for face-to-face employees in the company. The SPD chairmen Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans announced after a meeting of the presidium that this will now be initiated by the federal government in the cabinet meeting. The SPD assumes that the federal cabinet as a whole will both adopt stricter corona rules through federal law and approve an ordinance on the obligation to test offers in companies. Esken and co-party leader Walter-Borjans announced that the cabinet would take note of an ordinance from Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, with which mandatory test offers would be established in companies. This was discussed with the federal states and parliamentary groups, and the federal cabinet was also “in agreement on these objectives,” said Esken.

Usage does not have to be documented

The draft of the Ministerial Ordinance is based on the ARD capital studio in front. There should therefore not be any obligation to test for employees. It is only about the test offer obligation for companies. Companies also do not have to document whether the employees actually use the tests. And: Companies that have been badly hit by the Corona crisis can count the expenses for the tests as a cost item for the bridging aid. First of all, every employee should receive one test per week. If you have a lot of contacts, you should get two tests. All in all, the regulation is not as strict as many business associations fear. And yet there is criticism, for example from the employers’ association BDA. Managing Director Steffen Kampeter criticizes: The obligation to test leads to more bureaucracy and discredits the voluntary commitment of companies. It is of little consolation if the test bureaucracy that has now been introduced does not implement all of the proposed measures.

Stricter rules, more childhood sick days

The ministerial coordination is currently ongoing, tomorrow the federal cabinet is expected to approve the measure. According to the SPD boss Esken, the generally stricter corona rules that are also to be decided include a binding emergency brake, according to which “all openings must be withdrawn” if the infection value exceeds 100. There are “exit restrictions to be provided”. It was also agreed to increase the number of days paid for children’s illnesses per parent from the current 20 to 30 days. With a view to resistance in the Union parliamentary group to these new regulations, Esken said: “It must now be our most important goal to protect the health of people and the employees in hospitals”. The situation in the intensive care units is particularly dramatic, said the SPD leader.

Compulsory tests should relieve the economy

In view of the negative attitude of some Union politicians to mandatory test offers in companies, Walter-Borjans warned that these politicians should also be aware that this would “avert a complete lockdown” for the economy. He also referred to ongoing discussions about extending the bridging allowances for businesses as well as in favor of downtown businesses. The SPD parliamentary group is also obviously behind the planned measures. “We support a rapid emergency brake in the Infection Protection Act, which formulates the measures precisely and bindingly,” said parliamentary group vice-president Dirk Wiese of the AFP news agency. The current inconsistencies in protective measures must be overcome. Wiese also pushed for a nationwide test obligation for employers, “because it is becoming more and more obvious that it does not work across the board without pressure”.

Advance by the Minister of Labor

With his plans for a mandatory test offer at the workplace, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil had accelerated the discussion. Encouragement for the move came from the union side, among others. Reiner Hoffmann, chairman of the German trade union federation (DGB), told the newspapers of the “Funke Mediengruppe” that there had to be a test obligation for employers: “It is simply not understandable why people in the private sector have been restricting themselves to their basic rights for over a year , but the rules for employers are still as smooth as butter. ” The Union and employers have so far refused to test. Economics minister Peter Altmaier recently emphasized that he relied on the voluntary nature of the companies that had agreed to expand their test offer. According to a report by “Spiegel”, the Federal Ministry of Economics is said to have given way in the meantime. It was said that one would turn around. The departmental coordination is ongoing to clarify the final details. With information from Tobias Betz, ARD capital studio