The meaning of the word “lockdown”

I see the Italian press insisting on non-existent concepts, so I think it's time to clarify some things. I realize that it is necessary to repress the discontent of the population, but telling lies seems to me a behavior more like sovereignists (who then apparently criticize themselves) than journalists.

First point: in Germany lockdown does NOT mean being locked at home.

Due to the German constitution, the government CANNOT lock citizens into their homes. The SS, in fact, had as their motto "whoever owns the roads owns the country", and therefore by constitution the citizen can NOT be prohibited from using the roads. What does it mean? It means that we have NEVER been locked in the house here.

What was done was to close the destinations: I understood that the Germans go to the brewery in the evening, closing the breweries less Germans have gone out. Realized that they were going to the restaurant, closing the restaurant less Germans came out. (Germans are happy to stay at home, I must say, especially in winter). You see that they go to work and "orders" (actually you strongly advise) companies that can do home office to put their employees at home. But what was done was NEVER a ban on leaving homes. That it wouldn't be legal, and Merkel actually tried and slammed her nose against the constitution, and then fell back on the "ruhig" days and hit it in the face again. But I'll get there later.

Of course, if the bubonic plague came it would be possible to lock citizens in their homes, but it would require a long and special procedure in parliament, a particular signature of the president, and a very strong consensus regarding the emergency, etc. It's not practically feasible.

Army in the streets: prohibited.

In Germany, again by constitution, the army cannot deploy in force on the territory, without being invited to do so by the president of a Land. This, again, comes from the past when the army together with the militias had taken control of the country, as they did after the Spartacist revolt, and on other occasions.

The "federal" police (La Polizei, in short) is however controlled by the interior ministry of each Land, which also has a secret service to check that there are no conspiracies. Then there is the BKA, the Federal Criminal Police (BundesKriminalAmt), which has jurisdiction over the whole country but only in special cases. (a little like the FBI in the US, they come and take over in serious cases). Then there is the Ordnungsamt, a kind of traffic police but much more powerful, which is at the service of the city. But they are not military.

So no, it never happened that the army took to the streets to close the roads. It would be illegal in so many ways that it is not politically thinkable. The military is helping, but mostly it has built field hospitals and vaccination facilities everywhere. And there was some grumbling on the left, as happens in Berlin.

Second point: you can go out, but?

Since, in fact, it is not possible to lock people in the house, one can go on the street. You can run, Nordic walking, and all of that.

But here comes the point: it is possible to ban gatherings instead. This was done, and it was also customized according to the states. I can speak for NRW where I live. You can go out indoors, even the whole family, and be together with 1.5 / 2 meters of distance from any other family unit. By family unit we mean cohabiting, so if a group of students live in an apartment and have done "Anmeldung", that is, they registered in the municipality (mandatory in NRW if it is a state apartment), for example, you can go out together .

It is possible that ONE member (usually a child) from another family is staying in your home, for example classmates come to our home (one at a time) to study & fuck around and sleep here. But no more than one.

In general, two people from different nuclei cannot be exceeded at distances of less than two meters, in public places.

If these rules are violated, there are variable fines depending on the Land (the region) of the Landkreis (or Kreis outside the NRW) that is the province, or the city. Here where I live, the fines reach up to € 23,000 each, but I don't know if it's the mayor or the Kreis. So don't be fools. The police also take enduros and wander around the green areas, so the teenagers who thought of going to camp in a tent in the woods near my house (I live in the countryside around Neanderthal) found themselves a nasty surprise. (but apparently the police have decided to be lenient and have not arrived at such a heavy fine).

So you can go out, but you can't get close to others.

Third point: what did Merkel want to do?

Since it is not possible to lock people in the house and close all curfew model, Merkel tried to declare "Ruhig" (silent) for a few days. What does it mean? It means that if you come to Germany you will be amazed that on Sundays the cities are quiet, except for one district (usually AltStadt, the historic center) where there is a lot of noise.

The “ruhig” day can also be, depending on the local religion (evangelist or catholic) as happens for example during Good Friday, or other more or less local religious holidays in the Land. In a "ruhig" day you simply cannot make a mess, and all businesses and businesses are closed. (corollary: Good Friday, being "ruhig", is a holiday and no one goes to work). In practice, on the "ruhig" days everything is closed, and if you miss having a birthday party at home and putting on music you must have the permission of the Hausmeister of your condominium. But in general it is forbidden and if the neighboring building complains, you have to stop making music.

(I'm talking about relatively small cities, Berlin and Cologne do not follow standards recognized as “German” by other Germans: in Berlin for its history, and in Cologne because they are notoriously crazy to bind: vox populi, vox dei).

Merkel has tried to make "ruhig" several days, including Holy Thursday, across the country. This has caused an uprising of the companies, because as it is not an official holiday they did not know how to fiscally justify the holiday, and they cannot order (again by law) employees to deduct a day off. Furthermore, for work insurance at work you are at work, on holidays you are not at work, and if you do not know the Brinnel toughness of the German bureaucrat you cannot understand why Merkel also decided to give up. In short, Merkel believed that something was possible that was not possible for bureaucratic reasons (despite being legal) and had to back down.

Last point: it is not clear whether being closed at home is useful.

In Italy they have always said to close themselves at home, while not the whole world agrees. Only in London was there a complete curfew when things got out of control.

In reality, the health authorities have never agreed on this. We have always issued the advice to go out in the (rare) days of good weather because this decreases the incidence of all lung diseases, and they have always asked the population to open the windows to ventilate, about an hour a day. (this recommendation varies from Land to Land: some an hour, others less).

In the schools of Erkrath, the municipality where I live, for example, they kept the windows open all the time, asking the students to keep their jackets, and to bring blankets to keep in the lockers.

The reason is that there is clearly a tendency to contagion indoors, due to stagnation of the air, and a tendency to contagion in domestic environments and condominiums.

So it is not true that there is a universal recommendation to stay indoors. Especially in the summer, when science knows that going out decreases the incidence of lung-type infections: it is not for nothing that the waves of flu arrive in winter.

Furthermore, it is known that the virus has little resistance to oxygen and very little to ultraviolet light (ie to direct sunlight). For this the Germans can go to Palma de Mallorca or to the beaches of northern Europe. (which are cold for my taste but the sun is there, and that's enough).

It worked?

Apparently yes. So far, Germany has fewer deaths than Italy, having more inhabitants. So these measures work. It is true that the Germans are not happy, but it is a people who love to win big . They begin to criticize the government under conditions where in my standards it would be applauding. Everyone has their own habits.

In the election campaign, then, they become unbearable: reading the opposition newspapers during the election campaign, we would live in a kind of wasteland and radioactive, where punk gangs in the service of gigantic warriors terrorize the population in the name of the King of Hokuto, and getting to the Mad Max situation is a long-term agenda.

But honestly, said in Italian, “it's a bit of stretch”.

I understand the Italian newspapers. But I don't approve of them.

I understand that it is difficult for the Italian newspapers to explain that Italy was (together with London) the only place to practice lockdown by locking citizens at home. And that it was the only country in the West to put soldiers on the streets.

And I understand that the citizen might also be pissed to discover the fact that everyone says "lockdown", but the word has different practical meanings.

I understand that it may be convenient to say "but they have done so everywhere". But it's not true. Even leaving aside the usual Swedish sboronissimi, the restrictions are, throughout Europe, more similar to the German ones than to the Italian ones.

Italy went really hard. It is true that it was the first country affected, but in my opinion it would be better to go on television and treat Italians as adults : to explain that it was a new situation and the Abbestia lockdown was necessary due to the lack of other strategies, and to begin to explain that other countries did not do the same because they had collected more statistics.

Because lies have short legs, and sooner or later someone will start to notice that the word "lockdown" has different meanings in different countries, and maybe they WILL get pissed off. How long can you hide such a thing? Don't you know the Internet exists? Do you think I keep it a secret when I talk to Italian friends, and like me all expats?

And when citizens think you lied, people no longer believe what you say.

Even if Draghi says so.

Do you want to start treating Italians as if they were adults?