Will the next corona wave come in autumn? If so, the Federal Minister of Health Lauterbach wants to be prepared – and to be able to use already known measures again.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to be able to react to a possible new corona wave in autumn by making masks compulsory indoors again.
The Infection Protection Act is currently being worked on again, said the SPD politician last night on the ZDF program “Markus Lanz”. “It’s running on September 23rd. out of. And then the question will have to be discussed again, for example whether wearing a mask indoors will become mandatory again. » He thinks it is absolutely necessary to open up this possibility for the autumn. The corona incidence and the number of hospital admissions are currently falling – but the Robert Koch Institute still assesses the risk to the population as high.
The recently amended Infection Protection Act runs until September 23rd. General mask requirements for events or when shopping as well as 2G and 3G regulations have therefore been eliminated since the beginning of April. For the time being, “basic protection” applies – for example with mask requirements in buses, trains, clinics, practices and nursing homes. Irrespective of state requirements, however, there are also further protection rules with mask requirements in many places, for example in cultural institutions.
Corona protection in care facilities
The Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council spoke out in favor of strengthening corona protection in care facilities again in autumn. Additional prevention and management measures should be implemented to prevent and contain Covid-19 outbreaks, the panel said in its latest opinion. Among other things, regular tests for employees, visitors and residents and “low-threshold outreach offers to carry out vaccinations” were proposed. According to the paper, the persistently high corona numbers and decreasing vaccination protection over time have led to a renewed increase in the number of infections and deaths in the facilities in recent months.
The obligation to wear masks on buses and trains is also being discussed. While the chairman of the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI), Tobias Tenenbaum, considers abolition to be justifiable, the chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, classified the measure as “very low-threshold” but “absolutely sensible”.
No more 3G proof to enter Germany
The Corona entry rules that are still in force will be relaxed next week: From Wednesday onwards, 3G proof will no longer be required for entry into Germany. Stricter rules remain in place for travelers from so-called virus variant areas: They must go into a 14-day quarantine in Germany, even if they are vaccinated or have recovered. However, no country is currently designated as a virus variant area. The changed entry regulation also stipulates that in future not only the vaccines approved by the EU, but all vaccines approved by the WHO will be recognized upon entry.
Lauterbach defended the government plans to procure additional corona vaccine on ZDF. There are vaccines for three different corona lines for the fall – the Wuhan variant, a pure omicron vaccine and a combination vaccine, he said. “Now I’m not telling a secret by saying: We’ll have to throw away some of these vaccines later.” When a dangerous wave comes, everyone wants the best vaccine. “That’s why I prefer to be criticized for throwing it away later.”
