Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared today that in order to stop the spreading of the coronavirus, from now on the following rules are in effect in all of Germany:

• If at all possible, avoid any direct contact to other persons outside of your own appartment
• If you go outside, keep at least a minimum distance of 1.5 to 2 meters from other persons
• You are allowed to leave the house to go to work, to go to the supermarket or to the doctors. You are also allowed to leave the house in order to help other people, or to make sports alone.
• But: you must only go outside either alone, or with family members who live in the same appartment, or together with one single other person.
• You are not allowed to meet in groups (of more than 2 persons) outside anymore. Warning: this rule will especially controlled by the police, and there will be fines if you don't follow this rule!
• All restaurants are closed. But it is still possible to order take-away food (like Kebab) or have food delivered to your home (like pizza delivery service).
• All companies where there is close physical contact between employees and clients are closed. This is true especially for hairdressers, nail studios, tattoo studios. Companies that offer medical treatment (like physiotherapy) are exempt from this rule.
• All companies that are still operating have to comply to strict hygienic rules

These emergency rules will be in effect from now on, for at least the next two weeks until April 5th. If the situation is not better by then, these rules can be in effect even longer.

Please stick to the rules! This is the only way to prevent the virus from spreading! Police and law enforcement will be controlling that everyone sticks to these rules, and there will be fines if one does not comply!