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New Year's Eve in times of Corona, that too will be very different from usual. Parties are forbidden and there are strict contact restrictions for public spaces.
The most important questions and answers about the rules that apply during the New Year in North Rhine-Westphalia.
What can I do on New Year's Eve in my own four walls?
In short: parties are prohibited, but otherwise there are no official rules.
According to the requirements of the Corona Protection Ordinance, meetings with friends or family on New Year's Eve in your own four walls are not limited by the number of guests.
And as at Christmas, there will be no random checks at home, announced Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU).
At parties, however, they intervene.
“And partying means celebrating.
And that can be decided very quickly: Is it a peaceful dinner or is it a party, ”said Reul.
The NRW Ministry of Health also emphasized: The urgent recommendation to apply the regulations on contact restrictions also in the private sector and to restrict social contacts to what is really necessary continues to apply.
What can be done outside on New Year's Eve?
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In principle, what was previously the rule applies here: five people from a maximum of two households are allowed to stay together in public spaces.
Children under the age of 14 are not counted.
Is that all?
In some cities and districts particularly affected by the corona virus, a night curfew also applies at the turn of the year.
For example in the Gütersloh district, where the number of people who tested positive for corona was particularly high recently.
Citizens have to stay in the house between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The apartment may only be left in special exceptions - New Year's Eve celebrations and fireworks are not included.
Oberhausen, the districts of Düren and Lippe and the city of Solingen have also adopted night exit restrictions.
How about fireworks?
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There will be no fireworks in many places - but they are only prohibited in some places.
The sale of fireworks and firecrackers has been banned throughout Germany.
There are different rules from city to city as to whether firecrackers that have already been bought can be banged.
In the state capital Düsseldorf, for example, there is a ban on fireworks in the entire old town.
In Bonn, gunfire is prohibited in public spaces - in the entire city area.
What is that supposed to help?
For example, Minister of the Interior Reul emphasized that rockets and firecrackers should not be ignited: "Just let it be, play it safe." It relieves the health system if the risks of accidents with pyrotechnics are minimized, he affirmed.
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The Mayor of Düsseldorf Stephan Keller (CDU) made a similar statement: "Every treatment of an injured person creates an additional burden for the clinic staff."
How are the police preparing for New Year's Eve?
The turn of the year in times of Corona is something like a journey into the unknown for the police and regulatory agencies in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“It is extremely difficult for the security authorities to predict how people will behave,” said Interior Minister Reul.
But be prepared for possible problems.
A little more police officers are on duty on New Year's Eve than a year ago - a total of over 4,800. Some of the forces are on standby and can be requested if necessary.
What about trips in snowy regions?
The weather will remain winterly cold in the mountains in the coming days.
And trips to the Sauerland, for example, are not prohibited.
But this is not advised after numerous day-trippers had recently been drawn there - traffic jams and overcrowded parking spaces were the consequences, for example in the winter sports resort of Winterberg.
"With all understanding for a few hours off in a beautiful holiday region like the Sauerland, especially in a beautiful snowy landscape: Now it is important to stay at home if possible," warned Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU).
In addition to Winterberg, the Eifel community of Hellenthal also appealed to snow-hungry day trippers not to come any more.