15 km rule: Which areas in Germany are affected by new movement restrictions?

What is the 15 km rule?

Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders decided last week on new tighter rules to try and stem the spread of Covid-19 to bring numbers down and ease the burden on hospitals.

As part of the new measures people living in districts with very high Covid infection rates will have their freedom of movement drastically restricted.

For districts with a 7-day incidence of more than 200 new infections per 100,000 residents, the radius of movement is to be restricted to a 15 km radius around the area you live, unless there is a valid reason to travel further.

Exceptions can include trips for work or medical appointments.

"Shopping, travelling and day-trips explicitly do not constitute a valid reason," the government and states say.

Chancellor Merkel had been pushing for this order to come into force in regions with an incidence rate of 100 infections per 100,000 people in seven days. If Merkel had got her way, this rule would have applied to most of the country, effectively bringing travel to a complete standstill.

The travel restriction can be lifted if the infection levels are below 200 for a period of time (usually at least seven consecutive days). Note that not every state is enforcing the rule, and there can be differences in the way it is rolled out.

READ ALSO: These are Germany's new tighter lockdown rules

These are the areas with an incidence over 200 as of Monday January 11th

Bavaria

District of Passau

Berchtesgadener Land district

Wunsiedel district

Kulmbach district

Coburg

Passau

Deggendorf district

District of Coburg

District of Kronach

District of Rottal-Inn

District of Bayreuth

District of Regen

District of Roth

Landshut

District of Donau-Ries

District of Cham

Hof

District of Tirschenreuth

Fürth

Lichtenfels district

District of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen

Miesbach

Weiden i.d.Opf

District of Freyung-Grafenau

Rosenheim

Ingolstadt

District of Dingolfing-Landau

Haßberge district

The map below gives an idea of the worst affected areas in Germany as of January 11th. The deep red and purple coloured areas have over 200 cases per 100,000 residents in seven days and may be affected by new restrictions.

Brandenburg

District of Dahme-Spreewald

District of Elbe-Elster

Frankfurt Oder

District of Oder-Spree

District of Oberspreewald-Lausitz

District of Ostprignitz-Ruppin

District of Potsdam-Mittelmark

District of Teltow-Fläming

District of Uckermark

Havelland district

Spree-Neisse district

Cottbus district

Hesse

Gießen

Limburg-Weilburg district

Vogelsbergkreis

District of Fulda

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Mecklenburg Lake District

Lower Saxony

District of Gifhorn

Lower Saxony does not force affected districts to apply the 15 km rule, but leaves it up to the municipalities.

Saarland

District of Saarbrücken

Saxony

District of Meißen

District of Bautzen

District of North Saxony

District of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge

District of Erzgebirgskreis

Görlitz district

Central Saxony district

Leipzig

Zwickau district

Chemnitz

Vogtlandkreis district

Dresden

Saxony-Anhalt

Anhalt-Bitterfeld

District of Dessau-Roßlau

Halle

Wittenberg district

Saalekreis district

Burgenlandkreis

Schleswig-Holstein

No district above 200 incidence yet

Rhineland-Palatinate

Worms

Ludwigshafen am Rhein

District of Bad Kreuznach

Thuringia

Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district

District of Hildburghausen

Suhl

Eichsfeld district

District of Schmalkalden-Meiningen

District of Saale-Orla

Unstrut-Hainich district

District of Altenbuger Land

Wartburkreis district

Sonneberg district

Hildburghausen District

Saale-Holzland district

Gotha district

Saale-Holzland district

Greiz district

Eisenach district

Sömmerda district

Ilm district

Kyffhäuserkreis

Nordhausen district

District of Gera

Jena district

District of Weimarer Land

District of Erfurt

In Thuringia, the radius of movement will not be restricted by decree. The cabinet agreed on a recommendation, not an obligation.

Berlin

The new rule kicks in on Saturday January 16th. Read more in our story here.

North Rhine-Westphalia

Since Tuesday January 12th, the 15 km rule has also been in force in NRW.

The state government issued a regional ordinance with specifications on how and in which districts people's radius of movement will be restricted. The ordinance initially lists four districts: Höxter, Minden-Lübbecke, Recklinghausen and the Oberbergischer Kreis.

Hamburg

No areas of over 200 incidence reported so far.

The 15-kilometre rule does not apply in these federal states at the moment:

Baden-Württemberg
Bremen

However, the situation can change quickly so keep an eye on your local rules (and the incidence number in your district). You'll find information on the Robert Koch Institute website.

READ ALSO:

• Schools, contact rules and travel: What you need to know about Berlin's new Covid-19 restrictions
• This is how Germany's coronavirus rules vary between states

How do you calculate a 15 km radius?

The aim is to stop people from going on day trips. The German government and states already say that in general everyone should refrain from non-essential travel, whether it's within the country or abroad.

So it's safe to say wherever you live, authorities would prefer if you didn't travel far.

If you need to calculate a 15 km radius there are a few sites where you can do that.

Note that the place of residence is usually the city/town where you live, not your own address. But in some states the rules may differ on what is classed as your place of residence.

To work out the radius, you could try the CalcMaps calculator here.

You could also try this interactive calculator.

Please keep in mind that this article, as with all of our guides, are to provide assistance only. They are not intended to take the place of official legal advice.