WIESBADEN, Germany (LifeSiteNews) — The German state of Hesse has allowed supermarkets and other stores to require proof of COVID vaccination (or proof of recovery) before granting access to their facilities. People unable to produce such proofs could be denied entry.
The decision was announced Tuesday by Hesse’s Minister President Volker Bouffier, a member of the Christian Democrats.
In Hesse, like in many other German states, the so-called 2G rule was already enforced in certain venues such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, places of culture, and other large venues hosting big events. Now, Hesse has become the first German state to add supermarkets and stores to that list.
People who aren’t vaccinated can only show a positive PCR test that is less than 6 months old as a way to prove that they have natural immunity against COVID-19 after having contracted the disease and recovered.
With this new rule, Germany appears to be upping the pressure on the unvaccinated, following closely in the footsteps of France which began imposing vaccine passports back in August. Since then, a number of French supermarkets have asked their customers to show a COVID pass before entering, leading many French people to protest the measure.
This is also reminiscent of measures in place in the U.K. where back in July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that “proof of a negative test [would] no longer be sufficient” when he announced a vaccine mandate for night clubs and other large venues.
However, Bouffier tried to reassure the public on Tuesday, “We expect that this option will only be used on some days and that businesses which cater to everyday needs will not make use of it.”
The decision comes less than two weeks after a Frankfurt court ruled in favor of a barbecue store owner who had filed a lawsuit in order to be able to enforce the 2G rule. The court said it had “considerable legal reservations about the exclusion of sales outlets and similar establishments from the so-called 2G rule.”
The ruling allowed the owner of the store to deny access to customers who only show a negative COVID test result, setting a precedent for other retailers in Hesse which are now allowed to apply the 2G rule as well.
The idea behind the rule is to allow shops opting for it to drop mask-wearing and social distancing rules.
Though the judges involved in the barbecue store case did not seem concerned about the impact such divisive and discriminatory rules could have on German society, both 2G and 3G (which allows a negative test as proof of not having COVID) have come under fire recently, as some people deem these rules to be unconstitutional.
Dietrich Murswiek, a constitutional law expert from Freiburg, published a 111-pages-long report entitled Freedom restrictions for the unvaccinated, the unconstitutionality of indirectly imposing forced vaccination against COVID-19, stating: “These two rules (particularly the 3G rule, which imposes COVID tests that aren’t free of charge), the discrimination between vaccinated and unvaccinated people when it comes to quarantine rules, as well as the withholding of compensation for unvaccinated people who have lost wages are all incompatible with the law and violate the basic rights of those affected.”
In spite of this, it is expected that other German states will soon follow the example of Hesse in allowing the 2G rule to be extended to supermarkets and stores.