Pubs, restaurants and bars in Hamburg will be allowed to put up their outside tables this weekend, after a significant drop in the seven-day coronavirus incidence rate in the city state. 

Hamburg’s corona incidence rate falls below 50

On Tuesday, the seven-day incidence rate (the number of new infections per 100.000 inhabitants within seven days) in the Hanseatic city dropped to 42,5. Cases have been plummeting for weeks, and now, for the first time since mid-October 2020, the seven-day incidence rate has fallen below the critical value of 50.

Mayor Peter Tschentscher has therefore decided to bring forward the reopening of outdoor dining at cafes, restaurants, bars and beer gardens - originally not scheduled to take place until June - to this coming Saturday, May 22, just in time for the Whitsun public holiday. 

Crucially, would-be drinkers and diners will not have to show a negative coronavirus test at establishments, so long as the seven-day incidence rate remains below 50. Up to five people from two households will be allowed to sit at one table. 

Other restrictions to be lifted in Hamburg this weekend

The drop in cases means that other measures will also be eased this weekend. Contact restrictions will be loosened so that up to five people from two households can meet up, not including children under the age of 14. Non-essential shops will also be allowed to reopen. Shoppers will not have to test for COVID-19 (as long as the incidence remains below 50), but they will be required to submit their personal data for contact tracing. 

Close-contact services like beauty salons, tattoo studios and massage parlours, outdoor swimming pools and driving schools will be allowed to resume operations, but negative coronavirus tests are required for these services. From this weekend, the mandatory mask requirement will no longer apply in Hamburg’s parks and green spaces. 

And, for the first time in months, outdoor events involving up to 250 people will be allowed, with strict hygiene, testing and seating / standing requirements in place. Tschentscher also suggested that theatres, concert halls and cinemas might be allowed to open from May 28, as long as the infection situation does not worsen.