Physical Activity During Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdowns in Germany – an Overview

Abstract

Summary In Germany, different ministries are responsible at state level for sport and physical education. The same applies for Covid-19 pandemic decrees. As a result, different rules and regulations have to be followed depending on the place of residence. The same applies to regulations of physical activity in various settings – kindergarten, school, clubs, municipality. The periods of Covid-19 lockdowns have been marked by nationwide closures of kindergartens, schools and in- and outdoor sport facilities. Resulting in an increase in screen time and sedentary activities (Langmeyer et al. 2020) and a notable decrease in children’s daily physical activity to 23.9 minutes (Schmidt et al. 2020). However, during the first lockdown (22. 03. 2020 – 04. 05. 2020), participation in daily activity increased from 108.8 min. per day before the pandemic to 146.8 minutes per day (Schmidt et al. 2021). This development in more casual sporting activities was not sustained into the second lockdown. Daily activity decreased to 62.2 minutes per day (Schmidt et al. 2021). Only organized sport showed a slight increase from 0.0 to 3.7 minutes per day in lockdown two (Schmidt et al. 2021). This was in spite of the fact that high-level athletes were allowed to train and some sport clubs changed to online offerings.