Pandemic Further Corona protection requirements to end on 1 March
Berlin · There have been signs of relaxation for some time with regard to the government's everyday requirements to contain the Corona pandemic. After the abolition of the obligation to wear a mask on the ICE, the next relaxation is to come soon.
According to plans of the federal and state governments, further nationwide Corona protection requirements are to expire early on 1 March. Health ministers on Tuesday agreed on an earlier end to the mask and testing requirements for employees and residents in health and care facilities, which were actually set to expire on 7 April. This was announced by the Federal Ministry of Health. However, visits to doctors' surgeries, clinics and nursing homes will still be subject to mandatory mask use.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said that, on balance, the infection situation has been stable for weeks. Hospitals are able to treat Corona patients well. Only when visiting medical facilities, it is still necessary to be careful. Those who visit patients or home residents and attend medical appointments must continue to wear masks. "The protection of vulnerable groups should be worth that to us." Lauterbach stressed, "The pandemic is not over yet. But the pandemic has lost its terror. The virus is controllable in everyday life. And we are drawing conclusions from this."
In preparation for a possibly more critical pandemic situation this winter, several nationwide Corona provisions had been written into the Infection Protection Act. Most recently, the obligation to wear a mask on long-distance trains and buses was suspended at the beginning of February. In short-distance transport, masking is no longer compulsory either, according to the regulations of the federal states. The federal states had also gradually phased out the obligation to isolate people infected with Corona.
(Original text: dpa/ga / Mareike Graepel)
