(sorry for the mechanical written article. I put it through a translator)
Masks on trains, more protection for clinics: The Goverment has decided on new measures. With them, according to the Federal Minister of Health, the "foreseeable wave" can be mastered.
The Federal Cabinet has adopted the key points for new corona protection requirements in autumn and winter. From October, there will be only a few nationwide regulations – such as an FFP2 mask requirement in long-distance and air traffic. However, in the event of high numbers of infections, States are given the opportunity to adopt more far-reaching measures within a limited framework, for example a mask requirement in shops.
"With this set of instruments, we can cope with the foreseeable corona wave in the autumn," said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) in a joint press conference with his FDP cabinet colleague, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. "Mask requirements, vaccinations and upper limits in the interior can be used according to the situation." The aim of the new rules is to avoid high death tolls, many absences from work and severe long-term consequences.
"We have to prepare for a situation like the one that can presumably occur in autumn/winter," Buschmann said. It is "a good and moderate concept".
The plans approved by the Cabinet provide for the following:
- Nationwide FFP2 mask requirement in airplanes and long-distance trains.
- Children between the ages of six and 14 and staff should also be able to wear medical masks.
- Nationwide mask requirement and proof of a negative corona test in clinics and care facilities Nursing homes should appoint officers for testing, vaccination and hygiene.
- The facilities are to receive 250 euros per month for the effort. For employees who take on this task, there should be a total of 750 euros.
- Possibilities for the federal states to impose further requirements – such as mask requirements in public transport and in publicly accessible interiors
Buschmann said many felt, "Can't all this crap just be over." But the virus is "not gone". "Everything else we provide for are pure legal bases, i.e. options that the states can draw, but do not have to." States could always do less.
The planned new regulations are based on a draft presented by both ministers at the beginning of August. Under pressure from the federal states, they have recently changed the rules in some places. The federal government has now made concessions in the dispute with the states over exceptions to the mask requirement indoors.
"I don't expect a patchwork carpet," Lauterbach said. The mask requirement indoors could be introduced. However, states could exempt those who have just been vaccinated or have recovered. If the pandemic makes this necessary, states could ignite a second stage. Then mask requirements in the interior could apply without exceptions, as well as requirements for distances or upper limits for the number of people in rooms. "I hope it doesn't have to be used in its entirety, but it has to be able to be used," Lauterbach said. The Federal Minister of Health made it clear "that there will be no further lockdown or school closures". This was also underlined by Buschmann.
The original plans of the Goverments Coalition had sparked criticism of the plan to eliminate the mask requirement indoors for people who are fully vaccinated and whose last vaccination was less than three months ago. Critics complained that this could be understood as an invitation to people to be vaccinated every three months. The government has now converted this into a "can" regulation: the states do not necessarily have to implement it.
Changes to the key points are still possible, because after the cabinet decision, the draft is now going into parliamentary deliberations. "Parliament has the last word," Buschmann said. The draft could be adopted in the Bundestag on 8 September. The Federal Council must then also agree. The new Infection Protection Act will then apply from 1 October to 7 April 2023. The corona provisions in the Infection Protection Act had been greatly reduced in the spring. General mask requirements when shopping or for events and access rules such as 2G and 3G were eliminated.
Masks on trains, more protection for clinics: The Goverment has decided on new measures. With them, according to the Federal Minister of Health, the "foreseeable wave" can be mastered.
The Federal Cabinet has adopted the key points for new corona protection requirements in autumn and winter. From October, there will be only a few nationwide regulations – such as an FFP2 mask requirement in long-distance and air traffic. However, in the event of high numbers of infections, States are given the opportunity to adopt more far-reaching measures within a limited framework, for example a mask requirement in shops.
"With this set of instruments, we can cope with the foreseeable corona wave in the autumn," said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) in a joint press conference with his FDP cabinet colleague, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. "Mask requirements, vaccinations and upper limits in the interior can be used according to the situation." The aim of the new rules is to avoid high death tolls, many absences from work and severe long-term consequences.
"We have to prepare for a situation like the one that can presumably occur in autumn/winter," Buschmann said. It is "a good and moderate concept".
The plans approved by the Cabinet provide for the following:
- Nationwide FFP2 mask requirement in airplanes and long-distance trains.
- Children between the ages of six and 14 and staff should also be able to wear medical masks.
- Nationwide mask requirement and proof of a negative corona test in clinics and care facilities Nursing homes should appoint officers for testing, vaccination and hygiene.
- The facilities are to receive 250 euros per month for the effort. For employees who take on this task, there should be a total of 750 euros.
- Possibilities for the federal states to impose further requirements – such as mask requirements in public transport and in publicly accessible interiors
Buschmann said many felt, "Can't all this crap just be over." But the virus is "not gone". "Everything else we provide for are pure legal bases, i.e. options that the states can draw, but do not have to." States could always do less.
The planned new regulations are based on a draft presented by both ministers at the beginning of August. Under pressure from the federal states, they have recently changed the rules in some places. The federal government has now made concessions in the dispute with the states over exceptions to the mask requirement indoors.
"I don't expect a patchwork carpet," Lauterbach said. The mask requirement indoors could be introduced. However, states could exempt those who have just been vaccinated or have recovered. If the pandemic makes this necessary, states could ignite a second stage. Then mask requirements in the interior could apply without exceptions, as well as requirements for distances or upper limits for the number of people in rooms. "I hope it doesn't have to be used in its entirety, but it has to be able to be used," Lauterbach said. The Federal Minister of Health made it clear "that there will be no further lockdown or school closures". This was also underlined by Buschmann.
The original plans of the Goverments Coalition had sparked criticism of the plan to eliminate the mask requirement indoors for people who are fully vaccinated and whose last vaccination was less than three months ago. Critics complained that this could be understood as an invitation to people to be vaccinated every three months. The government has now converted this into a "can" regulation: the states do not necessarily have to implement it.
Changes to the key points are still possible, because after the cabinet decision, the draft is now going into parliamentary deliberations. "Parliament has the last word," Buschmann said. The draft could be adopted in the Bundestag on 8 September. The Federal Council must then also agree. The new Infection Protection Act will then apply from 1 October to 7 April 2023. The corona provisions in the Infection Protection Act had been greatly reduced in the spring. General mask requirements when shopping or for events and access rules such as 2G and 3G were eliminated.
