§ 1 Basic Obligations

(1) Each person is required to reduce physical social contact with other people to a minimum.

(2) A minimum distance of 1.5 metres must be maintained when having contact with other persons, including all private gatherings and events. Sentence 1 shall not apply if physical proximity less than 1.5 metres cannot be avoided under the circumstances, in particular

in the provision of health care and nursing activities, including the supply of therapeutic, assistance, and nursing aids in childcare for children within the meaning of § 22 of Book Eight of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch) – Child and Youth Services – in the version published on September 11, 2012 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2022), last amended by Article 16a of the Act of 28 April 2020 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 960), in schools including institutions of the second educational pathway within the meaning of the Schools Act (Schulgesetz) of January 26, 2004 ( GVB l. p. 26), last amended by Article 1 of the Act of June 11, 2020 ( GVB l. p. 538), and in vocational training, in the provision of close-contact services, or in small structural spaces that must be used by several people at the same time, for example in public transport or motor vehicles, if a general hygiene policy pursuant to § 2(3) as an exception permits less than the minimum distance of 1.5 metres and other measures are in place to ensure protection against infection.

(3) Subsections 1 and 2 do not apply to spouses, life partners, members of a person’s own household, to persons for whom custody and access rights exist, or to the critically ill or dying.

§ 2 Protection and Hygiene Plan

(1) Those responsible for events in companies and other establishments, in particular businesses, restaurants, hotels, sales outlets, places of entertainment, cultural and educational establishments, foundations, information and advice centres, educational offers, integration measures under the Social Code, publicly funded establishments, projects and measures, as well as for clubs, sports facilities, hospitals, doctors’ practices, care facilities including outpatient care services and offers financed by fees and grants shall draw up an individual protection and hygiene plan in accordance with the specific requirements of the service, program or event and submit it to the competent authority on request. Notwithstanding sentence 1, the obligation to create an individual protection and hygiene concept and to present it on request applies to private events with more than 50 persons present at the same time.

(2) When creating the protection and hygiene plan, the Robert Koch Institute’s relevant recommendations for infection protection in their respective version and the specifications of the respective occupational health and safety authorities must be taken into account. The main objectives of the protective measures to be taken are reducing contacts, complying with the minimum distance of 1.5 metres and the maximum number of persons permitted for the respective area, controlling access and avoiding queues as well as ensuring sufficient ventilation in enclosed spaces.Another essential objective of the protective measures is to ensure contact tracing is possible using appropriate measures. Notices regarding the rules of distance and hygiene must be posted in a clearly visible place.

More detailed information on the requirements of the protection and hygiene plan, including regulations on the maximum number of persons or access and visiting regulations, can be determined by the respective competent Senate department in agreement with the Senate department responsible for health in a sector-specific general hygiene concept.

(4) Subsections 1 to 3 shall not apply to events pursuant to § 6(3) numbers 2 and 3.

§ 3 Documentation of Attendance

events, restaurants, hotels, amusement arcades, casinos, betting shops and similar establishments, cinemas, theatres, concert and opera houses, companies offering close-contact services, the practice of sport in covered sports facilities including indoor swimming pools, fitness and dance studios and similar sports facilities, and for sports-related and similar leisure activities as well as sport outdoors according to § 5(7) sentence 1 letters b) to g) and state, private and denominational universities for event rooms in which on-site courses are held

must document attendance in closed rooms. For private events, the obligation to keep a record of attendance applies if more than 20 persons are present at the same time. Those responsible for events must also keep documentation of attendance if the event takes place wholly or partly outdoors. Those responsible for restaurant establishments must also keep documentation of attendance where food or drink is served outdoors or is served for consumption by self-service in the the approved outdoor dining area.

Name and surname, Phone number, Full address or email address, Time the person was present and Seat or table number, if applicable.

The attendance list pursuant to sentence 1 is to be stored or saved in a place not accessible to third parties for a period of four weeks after the end of the event or service and handed over to the competent authority on request if it is established that one of the participants was ill, suspected of being infected, infectious or a virus-shedder within the meaning of the Infection Protection Act at the time of the event, visit or service. After the retention period has expired, this attendance list must be deleted or destroyed.

(1) Beyond § 2, the persons responsible for(2) The attendance documentation may only be used for contact tracing in accordance with infection control laws and must contain the following information:

((3) Persons present, such as participants, guests, visitors, customers or users are obligated to provide the information in accordance with subsection 2 sentence 1 completely and truthfully.

(4) The persons responsible referred to in subsection 1 must deny access or permission to remain to any person present who provides incomplete or manifestly false information.

(5) Subsections 1 to 4 shall not apply to events pursuant to § 6(3) numbers 2 and 3.

§ 4 Mouth and Nose Covering (Community Mask)

(1) A covering for the mouth and nose (community mask) must be worn:

by passengers and non-driving staff when using public transport, including stations, airports and ferry terminals, and other vehicles with changing passengers, by customers in retail shops of all kinds as well as in handicraft, service and other commercial enterprises open to the public, in service and handicraft enterprises in the field of close-contact services such as in particular hairdressing businesses, cosmetic studios, massage practices, tattoo studios and similar businesses, also by personnel who work in close contact with customers, in restaurants by staff with guest contact and guests when they are not in their seat; this also applies to private gatherings in restaurants or other premises rented for festivities, by visitors in cinemas, theatres, concert halls and opera houses, libraries, archives, amusement arcades, casinos, betting shops and similar establishments, as long as they are not seated at their seats, in museums, memorials and similar cultural and educational establishments, by patients and those accompanying them in doctors’ practices and other health care institutions, provided that the medical treatment in question does not prevent this, in hospitals and nursing homes by visitors and patients or residents if they are outside their room or are receiving visitors, in covered sports facilities, including indoor swimming pools, fitness and dance studios, and similar premises used for the practicing sport, except while practicing sport and in vocational education and training, where the minimum distance of 1.5 metres cannot be observed, with the exception of vocational schools and in schools pursuant to § 1(2) sentence 2 number 2, with the exception of instruction and extra-curricular as well as supplementary support and supervision.

(2) A mouth-and-nose covering must be worn by participants in open-air assemblies in accordance with Article 8 of the Basic Law and Article 26 of the Berlin Constitution. (2) Notwithstanding subsection 3, the obligation to wear a mouth-and-nose covering as described in sentence 1 shall not apply to participants

at assemblies with no more than 100 participants in total, provided that they refrain from chanting and singing, or at assemblies that are carried out as marches but only use vehicles.

The assembly authority may also order mouth-and-nose coverings be worn in the cases referred to in numbers 1 to 2 if the measures provided for in the protection and hygiene concept pursuant to § 5(2) sentence 1 are not sufficient to prevent infections according to the circumstances discernible at the time the order is issued. The assembly authority can obtain an evaluation of whether the concept is in line with infection protection legislation from the competent health authority to assess this question.

§ 17a(2) of the Assembly Act (Versammlungsgesetz) in the version published on November 15, 1978 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1789), last amended by Article 2 of the Act of December 8, 2008 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2366), does not preclude the wearing of a mouth-and-nose covering to protect against infection.

(3) The obligation to wear a mouth-and-nose covering shall not apply to

children up to the age of six, persons who cannot wear a mouth-and-nose covering due to a health impairment or disability, persons whose use other device to reduce the spread of droplet particles or deaf persons and the hard of hearing as well as people who communicate with them, as well as persons accompanying them.

(4) Exceptions in addition to those listed in subsection 3 may be determined in a sector-specific general hygiene policy in accordance with § 2(3).

§ 5 Further Hygiene and Protection Rules for Particular Sectors

(1) Singing together in closed rooms shall only be permitted if the hygiene and infection protection standards laid down in the Hygiene Guidelines of the Senate Department responsible for culture in accordance with § 2(3) are observed. Sentence 1 shall not apply to persons listed in § 1(3).

(2) For assemblies according to Article 8 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) and Article 26 of the Berlin Constitution, the person organising the assembly must draw up an individual protection and hygiene plan, which must specify the measures to be taken to ensure the minimum distance and the hygiene rules are observed, such as the requirement to wear a mouth-and-nose covering, if applicable, or the prohibition of participants chanting together during the assembly, and to ensure the number of participants permitted according to the usable area of the place of assembly when the meeting is held is not exceeded. The assembly authority may demand the presentation of this protection and hygiene plan from the person organising the assembly and obtain an evaluation of the concept in terms of infection protection from the competent health authority. When carrying out the assembly, the organiser must ensure that the protection and hygiene plan is followed.

(3) Authorised hospitals may carry out planned admissions, operations and treatments provided that reservation and availability requirements are met and that the return to a crisis mode can be implemented at short notice at any time if the pandemic situation intensifies. Further details shall be determined by the Senate Department responsible for health.

(4) When opening sales outlets, only one person per 10 square metres of business premises may be admitted in closed rooms. If the size of the sales floor is less than 10 sqm, a maximum of one customer may be admitted at a time. Access to department stores and shopping centres (malls) shall be regulated separately by the operator. The minimum area of 10 square metres per person pursuant to sentence 1 shall apply to all sales areas located there. Incentives for staying in the department stores and shopping centres (malls) are not permitted.

(5) For public and waiting areas in the public authorities’ buildings, other public bodies of the State of Berlin and legal entities under public law directly under the jurisdiction of the State of Berlin, with the exception of the courts, subsection 4 sentences 1 and 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis, subject to sector-specific access regulations for reasons of infection protection.

(6) In restaurants and pubs, food and beverages may only be consumed at tables. The seating must be arranged such that a minimum distance of 1.5 metres is maintained between people who do not fall under the exception in § 1(3); no persons may be present within this distance. Notwithstanding sentence 2 and § 1(2) sentence 1, groups of up to six persons with a distance of less than 1.5 metres between them may sit at a table. Outdoors, the minimum distance according to sentence 2 may be reduced provided that protection against droplet infections and aerosols is ensured. No persons are allowed to stay within the minimum distance area. An enhanced cleaning and disinfection schedule must be ensured. Sentences 1 to 6 also apply to private gatherings in restaurants or other premises rented for festivities.

(7) Subject to sentence 2, sport may only take place without contact and in compliance with the distance regulations according to § 1(2). Insofar as it is absolutely necessary for practicing the sport, the restriction in sentence 1 shall not apply:

a) for the group of persons referred to in § 1(3),

b) for cadre athletes, Bundesliga teams and professional athletes,

c) for team and group sports in fixed training groups of no more than 30 persons, including the trainers and other support staff,

d) for martial arts in fixed training groups of a maximum of 4 persons in addition to the trainers and other support staff, whereby the total number of training groups allowed depends on the specifications for the sports facility used,

(e) for set dance and other sports couples,

(f) for the sporting use of sailing boats, rowing boats and canoes, with the exception of dragon boats,

g) for trainers and athletes, insofar as they provide assistance necessary for practicing the sport.

Before the start of the sport, the responsible persons must point out the necessity of complying with the protection and hygiene concept according to § 2(1) and to ensure its implementation.

(8) Competitions in contactless sports are permitted, provided that they take place within the framework of a usage and hygiene concept made by the respective sports association. The same applies to the competitive operation of other sports from August 21, 2020. For their national leagues, competitions will be permitted from August 15, 2020. Competitions for qualification to existing national cup competitions in contact sports can only be held before August 15, 2020, with the approval by the Senate Department responsible for sports. From August 21, 2020, spectators shall be permitted, subject to the upper limits for persons laid down in § 6, whereby the persons required for the operation of the game must be included when calculating the maximum number of persons. Fan singing and chanting is not allowed. The protection and hygiene concepts of event venues can provide more detailed regulations.

(9) Swimming pools, open-air and beach pools may only be opened with the permission of the local public health office.

(10) In the area of childcare, the Senate Department responsible for youth and family affairs may, in cases where the use of qualified personnel in the facilities is restricted due to the infection situation, make further regulations in order to be able to fulfil the scope of care while observing the hygiene requirements in accordance with the Child Day Care Support Act of June 23, 2005 (GVBl. p. 322), which was last amended by Article 1 of the Act of June 11, 2020 (GVBl. p. 535).

(11) The supply of sexual services without sexual intercourse, in particular erotic massages, bondage and related sexual practices, is permitted; practices carried out close to the face are not permitted. Prostitution facilities within the meaning of the Prostitute Protection Act (Prostituiertenschutzgesetz) of October 21, 2016 (BGBl I, p. 2372), last amended by Article 182 of the Ordinance from June 19, 2020 (BGBl. I, p. 1328), are permitted as long as they only offer services permitted in sentence 1. In addition to the first half-sentence of the first sentence, sexual services involving sexual intercourse are permissible from September 1, 2020; this also applies to prostitution facilities and prostitution agencies. Sexual services in accordance with sentences 1 and 3 shall be permitted in prostitution vehicles within the meaning of the Prostitute Protection Act from October 1, 2020. The organisation or holding of prostitution events as defined by the Prostitute Protection Act is prohibited. The person offering the services in accordance with sentences 1 and 3 and the operator of a prostitution business within the meaning of the Prostitute Protection Act must draw up an individual protection and hygiene concept in accordance with § 2(1) sentence 1 and § 2(2) and submit it to the competent authority on request. The offer of services pursuant to sentences 1 and 3 is only permitted by appointment and exclusively to individual persons. § 3(1) sentence 1 number 6 and § 3(2) as well as § 4(1) number 2 and § 4(2) numbers 2 to 4 apply mutatis mutandis.