BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th February, 2022) The authorities of the German city-state of Hamburg said on Tuesday that the 2G rule, allowing offline shopping only for vaccinated and recovered, would be canceled starting February 12, the German broadcaster N24 reported.
"On Saturday, the 2G rule will be substituted with the FFP2 mask obligation for everywhere in retail," a Hamburg government's representative said.
This comes a day after Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey announced the plan to drop the 2G rule for shopping in retail stores in line with similar plans voiced by the Federal state of Brandenburg. The state of Schleswig-Holstein will scrap the 2G rule on Wednesday.
Unlike some of its neighbors, Germany still has restrictions in place that do not allow unvaccinated people to attend public venues, restaurants, and some stores. The government is planning to ease the restrictions after the Omicron-related peak in new COVID-19 cases subsides, which is expected by the end of February. About 74% of the German population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and over 54% have had a booster shot.
