End of compulsory masks Many Bonners wear the mask even without having to
Bonn · Although masks are no longer compulsory, many Bonn residents continue to wear them. But some are also happy to finally be allowed to take it off - for very different reasons.
The first days without compulsory masks in Bonn are almost like the ones before. Most wear a mouth-nose protection voluntarily, but many are also happy to finally be allowed to take them off in public. The schools recommend wearing a mask - but you can't force anyone there. The obligation continues to apply on buses and trams, according to the Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB), and there have only been a few violations.
It is a short and concise answer that a woman in a discount store gives to the question "What do you think of the compulsory wearing of masks?": "I'm fed up." She does not want to trivialise the coronavirus at all, she says. "But I'm really happy to be able to take them off again. Then you can see a smile again." Walter Wüsten feels similarly, seeking shelter from the rain under a canopy on Münsterplatz. "Wherever I'm allowed to take off my mask, I do it."
He really goes into raptures when he talks about it. "It's nice to smell the soaps and fruit again when you walk past. Just dreamlike, I missed that." The mask, which he has to wear many hours a day because of his nursing job, also affected his health. He didn't catch a cold with the mask on, but it made it all the easier when he took it off again more often. "My doctor explained to me that this is because the immune system is no longer so well trained," says Wüsten. He still thinks masks are appropriate for high-risk groups.
Don't go into quarantine before your holiday
During a visit to Bonn's city centre on Monday, Wüsten and the Bonn woman are in the minority with their opinion. Most of them wear the mask voluntarily, not only in the shops but also when strolling through the alleys. One of them is Herta Meissner, who is currently browsing in the Vollmar perfumery on Sternstraße. "Even though it's harder for me to breathe because I'm allergic, I keep wearing the mask for protection," she says.
Jana Peters, her son Finn and husband Rainer Reek are looking at the fragrances in the Rituals shop a few metres away. There, everyone has a mask on - unlike at the traditional Van Dorp shop, you look in vain for a sign. "We're going on holiday soon," says Jana Peters. They don't want to run the risk of a Corona quarantine. To sniff, the mask is pulled down briefly, then it lands on the nose again. "You get used to it, but it's annoying. I think as soon as it gets warmer, we won't wear masks anymore," says Reek.
Staff can decide for themselves
While in the Elefant restaurant the table attendant smiles at the guests without a mask, the waiters wear a black mouth guard. In many restaurants and shops in Bonn, the bosses leave the decision to their staff. Dorothea Anders, who sells hats in the Hut.de shop, doesn't want to take them off yet. "With my age, I belong to the risk group," she says and is happy when customers do the same. "I think it's a contribution that everyone can make. To protect themselves and others.“
Pupils continue to wear masks
At many schools in Bonn on Monday morning, the children and young people were mostly still sitting in the classrooms wearing mouth and nose protection. Christa Hahn, headmistress of the Ludwig Richter Primary School in Duisdorf, had even recommended the continued wearing of masks in an email to all parents. "I know I can't force anyone to do it, but I think it's important that everyone protects themselves well, and in my opinion the mask is one of the best ways to protect against infection."
Obviously, she hit the right note with her email: "All the children have a mask on in class. I have only positive feedback from the parents." She and her colleagues would continue to wear masks anyway. "I do the same when I go shopping. I feel really weird if I don't wear the protection." Ursula Dreeser is head of Bonn's Fifth Comprehensive School and has not yet communicated the discontinuation of the mask requirement in any big way. "I have not yet encountered anyone without mouth and nose protection.“
Dorothee von Hoerschelmann from Helmholtz-Gymnasium makes no secret of the fact that she thinks the abolition of compulsory masks at school is wrong at this point in time. "The Corona numbers are still very high after all. I don't think it's sensible to do away with the mask now." She would have preferred to wait until after the Easter holidays before abolishing it. The headmistress is primarily concerned about her school-leavers: "I hope to get everyone through their school-leaving exams well and healthy."
Eike Schultz, head of the Tannenbusch grammar school, is not afraid to tell his students that they can probably have a carefree Easter holiday with the mask on at school. He is convinced that the danger of catching the disease is still great, and having to go into quarantine during the holidays is a deterrent for some. "If the incidences then hopefully go down, we will see at the end of the holidays whether we recommend that our students continue to wear the mask," he says. "But eventually the day will come when the mask will have to be dropped. There is a desire from everyone after two years, which I understand," said the headmaster.
Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach and Lisa Inhoffen
Translation: Mareike Graepel
