Government decision
–
Mask requirements in supermarkets and schools could be eliminated from March 20th
Decisive relaxation of the corona measures is expected to take effect in just a few days. This is what a draft that the Federal Cabinet approved on Wednesday provides for. Its exact implementation remains a matter for the federal states.
–
The federal government wants to significantly reduce the corona protection measures, but not completely abolish them. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) announced in Berlin on Wednesday that they intend to implement the reform of the new Infection Protection Act by the end of next week.
The draft was approved by the federal cabinet on Wednesday and now has to pass the Bundestag and Bundesrat. He sees from March 20th, a mask will be compulsory, for example in local public transport as Testing obligations in facilities with particularly vulnerable people in front. These will be under the point basic protection summarized. Mask requirement in the supermarket or in schools are no longer part of it.
In the event of new regional outbreaks of the corona pandemic in Hotspots or the spread of a new dangerous virus variant, further steps by the federal states are conceivable.
–
The change in law has become necessary because the previous infection protection law of the SPD, Greens and FDP stipulates that the corona measures possible for the federal states expire on March 19th. The new regulation should now be up to 23. September be valid.
Minister of Health Lauterbach said on ZDF on Wednesday: “Open everything, of course that’s not planned.” It is about an instrument “with which the countries can react immediately to new outbreaks or high numbers of cases”. You can work with it in such a way that you can get a grip on possible summer or autumn waves.
–
The draft law provides for the following points:
The basic protection: Specifically, on the one hand, it is about general rules that state governments can continue to prescribe, such as Mask requirements in nursing homes, clinics and in local public transport with buses and trains. Even Testing requirements in nursing homes and schools should remain possible, as can be seen from the draft available to the German Press Agency.
The obligation to wear masks on long-distance trains and planes is also to be anchored nationwide – so far the access rule only applies there for those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who have been tested (3G).
Mask requirements in supermarkets, retail and schools will therefore no longer be part of basic protection from March 20th.
–
The hot spots: If a corona situation worsens on site, stricter conditions should be able to be imposed – provided that the state parliament decides it and determines the “concrete danger of a dynamically spreading infection situation”. In this case, extra measures can be taken: Mask requirements, distance requirements, hygiene concepts and proof of vaccination, recovery or test – i.e. rules like 2G and 3G. Lauterbach said that this could apply to districts, cities, regions or, in extreme cases, an entire federal state.
The draft lists two general criteria as to what justifies such a dangerous situation:
– that a significantly more dangerous virus variant is circulating
– or that there is a risk that hospital capacities in the region will be overloaded due to the large number of new infections.
A “rigid mechanism” with quantified limit values is not provided, said Lauterbach. The decisive factor is the overall picture that the countries can assess.
–
Giffey and Woidke had demanded powers
The states of Berlin and Brandenburg welcomed this approach in principle at the most recent Prime Ministers’ Conference in February. However, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, and the Brandenburg Prime Minister, Dietmar Woidke (both SPD), continued to demand powers at state level to decide on the implementation of the Corona measures.
Woidke also advocates that far-reaching corona protection measures remain possible after March 20th. The countries should be able to react quickly if there are corona outbreaks again or a new variant appears, says Woidke.
–
Falling incidences in the region
In Berlin, the seven-day incidence of new corona infections fell significantly on Wednesday. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 687.7 new infections per 100,000 people were reported in Berlin within a week. The day before, the value was still 853.1. The corona incidence has also fallen in Brandenburg – from 1446.1 to 1,435.1.
According to the Senate Health Administration, the hospitalization incidence in Berlin increased slightly on Wednesday. Within a week, 15 per 100,000 people came to the hospital with a corona infection. On Tuesday it was 14.5. According to the Ministry of Health, this value also increased in Brandenburg from 7.03 to 7.27 within 24 hours.
Broadcast: evening show, March 9, 2022, 7:30 p.m
The comment function was closed on 03/10/2022 at 10:37 am. The comments serve to exchange information between users and the editors on the reported topics. Among other things, we close the comment function if the number of comments is so large that they can no longer be moderated in a timely manner. We also close the comment function if the comments no longer relate to the topic or a large number of the comments violate the rules of our Comment Policy hurt.
–
–
