There's a discussion going on in public....mostly between political folks and health experts, over the idea that the authorities in Germany have the ability to lock-down an entire village or city.
What this comes down to is a government law (IfSG, Nationwide Infection Protection Act). It says: "If necessary, important fundamental rights such as freedom of the person, freedom of assembly or inviolability of the home as well as the right to physical integrity can be restricted."
There is a decent article to cover over at N-TV (German commercial news network), and worth a four-minute read. It covers the basic idea of lock-downs.
The act even covers the shutdown of railway networks, roads, and even airports.
If you look at discussions going on.....ordering identified people to home-quarantine situations is likely to be the only step taken.
Taking a city the size of Frankfurt or Wiesbaden, and trying to city-wide quarantine for ten days would be near impossible. I would take a guess that 10-percent of the affected population would even attempt to immediately leave the area as the order is given.
Continuing a food supply system? It might be possible, but I suspect some German drivers would refuse to go into quarantined towns.
Will the act be challenged in court if the authorities try to quarantine an entire village? For a small village.....I don't think anyone will mount a challenge. If it's the entire city of Mainz? Oh yeah....there will be some legal opposition to this, and challenges in the court system.
As things go right now.....I don't see the act being pulled out and used that much. Maybe a month from now....the situation has intensified, and you might see a village or town focused upon.
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