Germany is preparing for a massive return to remote work

Germany is preparing for a massive return to remote work, according to a bill consulted by AFP on Sunday, in a bid to stem a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

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The reintroduction of the homework rule, which was lifted in early July, comes as Germany faces an alarming resurgence of the pandemic.

The number of infections and deaths has risen sharply since mid-October, in a country where the vaccination rate barely exceeds 67%.

With 289 cases per 100,000 people, the infection rate set a new record in Europe’s most populous country on Sunday, according to health agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

“The next wave will overwhelm all the previous ones,” the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, whose region is currently among the worst affected, told German weekly Bild am Sonntag.

According to the plan to return to remote work, German employers will have to offer the possibility of working from home if there is no “compelling professional reason” to come to the office.

Anyone who goes to work will also be required to prove that they have been vaccinated or tested negative.

The government is also considering restricting access to certain events for those who have been vaccinated or those who have recovered from the disease and may have tested negative, according to German media.

The bill is expected to be submitted to the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, for approval on Thursday, before the Senate will sign it on Friday.