Corona positive in Bavaria: what to do? – Bavaria

Those with Corona no longer have to stay at home: Bavaria abolished the isolation obligation on November 16th. Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) gives the “urgent recommendation: if you are sick, stay at home – as with other acute respiratory diseases”. But the decisive factor is that personal responsibility is now required. Until now, anyone who tested positive for the coronavirus had to isolate themselves at home, even if they felt in good health. You should isolate yourself in the future, especially if you feel bad.

However, some rules still apply to coronavirus positives, such as a mask requirement or a ban on entering certain facilities. In this way, groups of people who are particularly at risk must be protected. An overview of the regulations:

Mask obligation for Corona-positive people

If you have a positive corona test, you must wear a medical mask (surgical mask) or an FFP2 mask when you leave the house. However, not indoors when he is alone there, and not outdoors when the minimum distance of 1.5 meters from others can be maintained there.

This does not apply to children up to the age of six. Anyone who demonstrates with a medical certificate that they cannot wear a mask due to disability or for health reasons is exempt from the obligation, as are deaf and hard of hearing people and their companions.

Bans on activities and entry for coronavirus positive people

Anyone who has tested positive for the corona virus is not allowed to visit medical facilities, retirement and nursing homes or facilities for the disabled in Bavaria. The only exception to this prohibition is the accompaniment of the dying person.

In these structures there is also a ban on activities for people positive for the coronavirus, both for employees and volunteers. The only exception: Anyone who has no contact with particularly at-risk people, i.e. sick or elderly people, can still come to work – this applies, for example, to anyone working in the administration of a clinic.

This entry and activity ban also applies in shelters or prisons for the homeless and refugees. Day care centers are excluded.

How long do you have to comply with these protective measures?

Mask requirements, entry and activity bans apply from the time you have a positive corona test. And they end after five days at the earliest, provided you have been symptom-free for 48 hours and after ten days at the latest.

Who is considered Corona-positive?

Very simple: Anyone with a positive corona test, rapid test (e.g. at the pharmacy) or PCR test. From a purely legal point of view, a self-test performed at home does not count.

What is recommended for those who test positive?

You no longer have to self-isolate at home, but you should voluntarily do so – the state government has explicitly stated this general decree written. He also recommends working from home as much as possible, avoiding “unnecessary contact with other people”, not attending events or going to a bar, pub or restaurant.

Are there special rules for schools and kindergartens?

No. Anyone who is sick should stay at home – this always applies and of course also with Corona. Children who go to school or kindergarten despite positive tests must therefore wear a mask there.

Do you have to go to work with Corona now?

So far, anyone who tests positive has not been allowed to go to work, regardless of how they are doing. This has changed. Whether you get sick leave now depends on whether you have symptoms. In addition to the fact that it would always make sense to work from home in the event of a corona infection, the question also arises as to how the respective employer deals with this, i.e. if he also uses corona positives who do not show any symptoms of the disease, he demands that appear to work.

What applies to contacts?

The quarantine obligation for contact persons was abolished in Bavaria in April 2022. So you no longer have to stay at home as you used to. Even here, however, it is advisable to be careful, perhaps by wearing a mask or working from home.

Legal foundations

The Bavarian Ministry of Health has issued the regulations for people who have tested positive with a general decree, currently in force until 31 January 2023: the General decree on protective measures for persons tested positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (AV Corona protective measures). As of November 16, 2022, it has the precedent AV isolation replaced.