How Germany is preparing for winter Covid wave, minimum wage rise and energy U-turn

In the latest episode of our Germany in Focus podcast, host Rachel Loxton is joined by The Local journalists Imogen Goodman and Aaron Burnett in Berlin, while writer Brian Melican joins us from Hamburg. Listen in as we chat about the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany and how the government is preparing for autumn and winter with a new set of regulations. We break down what the rules are, and any changes you should be aware of. During the show, we discuss what the current Covid figures look like, and why the German government seems to be taking a harder line on dealing with the pandemic than many other countries. We also talk about the Omicron-adapted vaccines and who is eligible for a fourth vaccination.In this episode we detail the groups of workers who are benefitting from Germany's minimum wage increase, and why it's such a big deal for one party in the coalition government. We then hear about an interesting onion event taking place in Weimar this weekend (and you can read more about some unmissable events happening in Germany this month HERE). The team also talk about some things in Germany they'd love to do, including visiting a wine festival, the spooky Burg Frankenstein castle in the state of Hesse, and Leipzig's Wave-Gotik-Treffen - a massive goth meet-up. Please let us know if you have an event or festival in Germany that you're heading to soon, or you'd love to attend in future by leaving a comment or emailing us at [email protected] leave a rating or review wherever you listen to the podcast as it helps ensure that more people discover it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.