New quarantine rules in Berlin

A man holds a smartphone on which the federal government's Corona warning app indicates an increased risk.

In Berlin, simpler Coronavirus quarantine rules will apply from Friday (Jan. 14, 2022).

Federal Ordinance discussed by the Bundesrat

Starting tomorrow, the Senate is implementing the agreements reached by the federal and state governments the previous week, Senator for Health Ulrike Gote (Green Party) explained in the House of Representatives on Thursday. At its meeting last Tuesday, the Senate had initially not yet transposed the federal-state decision into state law, explaining that it wanted to wait for a federal ordinance in the interest of a uniform nationwide approach. Such a decree will be discussed in the Bundesrat on Friday.

New rules adopted at federal-state meeting

The new quarantine regulations will apply in Berlin from Friday. The Senate will amend the state ordinance at its meeting next Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Health Aministration explained. However, the new rules will already apply from Friday, and health offices have been informed. The new regulation approved by the federal and state governments aim to simplify and shorten the Coronavirus quarantine for contact persons and the isolation of infected persons. It also aims to ensure that hospitals and other facilities of the so-called critical infrastructure have enough staff despite the Omicron wave.

Reduction or elimination of quarantine obligation in certain situations

In the future, contact persons of infected persons no longer have to be quarantined if they alread received their third "booster" vaccination, have been doubly vaccinated for less than three months, have been vaccinated and recovered from a Covid infection, or have been fully recovered for less than three months. For all other contact cases and for infected persons, quarantine or isolation should usually end after ten days. After seven days, quarantine can be prematurely ended if one provides a negative PCR or antigen test. Employees in hospitals and nursing homes require a PCR test and must be symptom-free for at least 48 hours.