It began at one minute past midnight on March 1: After 75 days of shutdown, hairdressers in Germany were finally allowed to reopen their doors. But in some federal states, the easing of restrictions has gone even further. Here’s an overview. 

Hairdressers, hardware stores and garden centres reopening

Despite the signs that a third wave of coronavirus infections might be on the horizon, lockdown measures were eased across Germany on Monday morning. After two and a half months, hairdressers were allowed to reopen nationwide - and some of them did so at midnight on the dot, to get the first desperate customers in for their cuts and colours. 

In some federal states, other facilities are now also reopening, including garden centres, flower shops, hardware stores, beauty salons, podiatrists and driving schools. In fact, Hamburg and Berlin are the only states in which, apart from the reopening of hairdressers, there will be no further relaxations for the time being.  

What’s opening where in Germany?

In other federal states, a few changes are being made, as follows: 

• Baden-Württemberg: Hardware stores open, but only allowed to sell plants and gardening supplies; garden centres and flower shops open; driving schools can resume teaching
• Bavaria: Podiatrists, nail and beauty salons, hardware stores, garden centres and flower shops open
• Brandenburg: Garden centres open; outdoor zoos and animal parks have been open since mid-February
• Bremen: Garden centres open
• Hesse: Nail salons, podiatrists and garden centres open
• Lower Saxony: Garden centres open
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Nail and beauty salons open in regions with seven-day incidence rate below 35; garden centres open; outdoor zoos and animal parks to reopen on March 8
• North Rhine-Westphalia: Garden centres open (but only for certain plant sales); music schools open (only for primary-school-age children)
• Rhineland-Palatinate: Garden centres (outdoors), flower shops, music schools and outdoor zoos and animal parks open; retail trade open, but only by appointment
• Saarland: Garden centres open; retail trade open, but only by appointment
• Saxony: Garden centres, flower shops and podiatrists open; music schools for individual lessons; driving schools can reopen for practical lessons
• Saxony-Anhalt: Hardware stores and garden centres open; driving schools can reopen for practical lessons
• Schleswig-Holstein: Beard and nail care permitted (beauticians must remain closed); garden centres and flower shops open; outdoor zoos and animal parks open
• Thuringia: Garden centres and flower shops open

Further easing of restrictions to come?

On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet with the state premiers of the federal states to discuss further possible reopenings, with the current lockdown due to expire on March 7. Negotiations look set to be fierce, with the leaders beset by the twin pressures of rising case numbers in Germany and increasingly louder calls for restrictions to be lifted. 

Health authorities in Germany reported 4.732 new cases of COVID-19 to the Robert Koch Institute in the 24 hours to Monday morning, and a further 60 deaths - almost no change from the week before. The nationwide seven-day incidence rate (the number of new infections per 100.000 inhabitants) rose to 65,8. 

At the same time, opinion polls are clearly showing that the public’s patience with restrictions is wearing very thin. According to a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov, commissioned by the German Press Agency, only just over a third of the German population is now in favour of maintaining (26 percent) or tightening (9 percent) the current restrictions. 

On the other hand, 43 percent are in favour of loosening restrictions, and 17 percent are in favour of them being lifted altogether. This means that the majority is in favour of a relaxation of coronavirus measures for the first time since the tough lockdown began in mid-December.