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At a press conference this afternoon at the Prinz-Carl-Palais, Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder officially announced the extension of Bavaria’s exit restrictions until May 10, although some regulations regarding religious services and demonstrations will be eased.
The restrictions, originally planned until May 3, include leaving the house only for essential purposes like work, grocery shopping, and exercise, in addition to a 1.5m minimum distance between individuals.
And while the exit restrictions will remain in place now until May 10, Söder announced a few updates in the press conference regarding some regulations which will be eased, including:
- From May 4 onwards, small religious services will be allowed to take place again, so long as participants cover their nose/mouth and maintain a 2m distance
- From May 4 onwards, demonstrations will be allowed to take place again, so long as the demonstration takes place outdoors, for no more than an hour and with no more than 50 people attending. A 1.5m distance must also be observed
- In addition to small shops up to 800m², large shops exceeding this will be allowed to open, so long as they restrict their retail space to 800m²
And while lacking concrete dates/announcements, they also mentioned in the press conference the potential for restaurants to re-open sometime at the end of May, as well as a goal to have every child back at school at least one time before the end of May. The exact schedule/plan for school re-openings is still to be decided.
In the meantime, daycares will remain closed, however the state is planning on enabling cross-family child support, where families can register and share the burden of childcare across families.
This news follows the rollout of several changes this week as part of a gradual easing process (more info here). Senior students are returning to schools, the majority of shops have been allowed to reopen and as of last week, individuals may now meet with one person outside of their household. In the press conference, Söder noted that the lockdown measures so far have been effective, but emphasized the importance of exercising caution in scaling them back.
You can watch the full press conference here.
