In Germany, the number of corona infections is rising again – with 2,034 cases, the highest value since the end of April was recorded on Saturday. At the same time, parts of the population seem to be frustrated with the Corona protection measures spread out. The right course is being debated in the federal and state governments. How strict do the measures have to be? How can an exponential spread be prevented? How much can one intervene in the everyday life of the population?
AKK for stricter mask requirements
The CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer brought stricter mask regulations in professional life and in schools into play. Many companies would have the mask requirement on Workplace already introduced. “That could definitely be a step that will also become mandatory nationwide, at least if it could prevent entire industries from closing,” she told “Welt am Sonntag”.
This also applies to schools, says Kramp-Karrenbauer. If the mandatory wearing of Masks in class lead to circumventing the closure of schools, one should think about it: “The experience in North Rhine-Westphalia does not seem to be that bad.” So far, NRW is the only state in which one Mask compulsory during class gilt.
Söder for uniform mask requirement
Also the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder announced on Deutschlandfunk that he would campaign for a uniform mask requirement. “We even have to consider whether we can increase the mask requirement in some places in the next one or two months,” said the CSU politician.
DGB criticizes “cheap mask solution”
The German Trade Union Federation (DGB) criticized the statements Kramp-Karrenbauers a possible mask requirement at work. DGB board member Anja Piel told the dpa news agency that employers and countries would not be released from their obligation to take effective measures with a “cheap mask solution”.
“What is needed now is not blind action, but appropriate measures that actually protect against infections,” Piel emphasized. She called for investments in buildings and technology. Masks would come last in terms of occupational safety, the Federal Ministry of Labor and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Piel referred to that for hours Wearing a mask as “significant burden”. First and foremost, technical and organizational protective measures must be implemented by the employer and the school administrators in order to avert possible dangers.
Kipping calls for air filters for buildings
Left party leader Katja Kipping called for suitable air filters to be provided to prevent corona infections. “Schools, offices and restaurants must have air filters available before winter that can safely filter aerosols with corona viruses out of the air,” Kipping told the editorial network Germany. The federal government urgently needs to ensure sufficient availability of such filter systems.
Upper limit for private celebrations?
In politics, there is also nationwide uniform maximum number of participants for private parties discussed. However, this meets with resistance in several federal states, as a dpa survey showed. Accordingly, Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate generally advocate a uniform approach Upper limit for family celebrations, birthday parties or weddingsto curb the spread of the coronavirus.
A uniform regulation would have the advantage of “clarity and acceptance,” said a Hamburg Senate spokesman. The state representatives warn, however, that the rather strict rules in their respective federal state should not be relaxed.
Resistance in Northern Germany
Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania reject an upper limit – there the numbers of infections are lower than in some metropolitan areas and the southern states.
“At first glance, a nationwide solution may seem advantageous, but it fails to recognize the often very different development of the infection process within Germany,” said a spokesman for the state government in Schleswig-Holstein. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig told the NDR: “Why should I restrict the population in the north of my state just as it might be necessary in Bavaria, where we have the fewest infections and the largest in Bavaria?”
Between 25 people and no upper limit
Each state has its own rules for private parties and enact public events. A maximum of 25 people are allowed to meet in Hamburg if they are celebrating in their own apartment or on their own property. In Berlin, up to 500 people can meet for public and private celebrations, in Brandenburg there are no upper limits.
The state of Thuringia is currently thinking about easing the situation because the infection rate is developing positively there. In contrast, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are considering tightening the requirements for private celebrations.
“Private celebrations are a very great danger”
Several health ministers of the federal states even brought a ban on private celebrations into play. “Private celebrations are a very great danger,” said Brandenburg Health Minister Ursula Nonnemacher of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. If the number of new infections continues to rise, there is another threat of “tough contact restrictions. Everyone should be aware of this”.
The Baden-Württemberg Minister of Health Manfred Lucha also said that if necessary, the restrictions would have to be corrected. And Berlin’s health senator Dilek Kalayci put it this way: “I’ll stick with it: It’s not the time for parties.”
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