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At the weekend, police officers on Bergmannstrasse in Berlin checked compliance with the mask requirement
Photo: Michele Tantussi / Getty Images
It is to be crazy.
The Germans constantly have to familiarize themselves with new rules that are supposed to prevent the really big corona catastrophe.
In view of the increasing number of cases, which are increasingly occupying the hospitals again, the state governments muddle through the catalog of measures and pick out those that they consider suitable.
The resulting differences lead to uncertainty among the citizens on all sides.
Virologists, who are researching in real time and sometimes quarreling, who are supposed to construct the scientific basis for the measures, while politicians are already building on the roof, contribute to the confusion.
The personal code of conduct that results from this for all of us is full of contradictions.
Some rules seem terribly illogical compared to others.
In Hamburg, for example, clubs are currently still allowed to train in the sports halls.
Up to ten team athletes sweat in the shared aerosol mist.
If the team wants to end the evening outside after training with a reasonable distance, it will run into a problem.
Groups of a maximum of ten people are still allowed to meet in the open air in the Hanseatic city.
But only if they come from only two households.
It is rather unusual in mass sport to live under one roof with teammates.
When wheezing in the sports hall, in the worst case, the viruses penetrate deep into the lungs, but when you are outside that is not very sweaty you could even protect yourself with a mask.
Allowing one thing and banning the other is nonsense - but regulated nonsense.
Not the only contradiction that is currently upsetting many German citizens.
It gets particularly emotional when it comes to masks in public areas - here, too, the stringency sometimes reaches the limits of logic: In Elmshorn, people now have to wear masks at the weekly market.
But at the weekend tourists and locals strolled through the backyards of Berlin-Mitte in the most beautiful sunshine.
In other streets of Berlin, on the other hand, masks had to be worn outdoors.
In comparison, not everything that was decided to contain the virus appears fair.
No wonder that many get angry and discuss the usefulness of some measures.
With all the justified anger, however, it is forgotten that we are still stuck in an unprecedented situation.
The fact that not everything is logical and consistent in the fight against the corona pandemic is a side effect of federalism, against which there is no medicine.
Uniform rules are not the solution either
Germany must act quickly if a second lockdown is to be prevented.
A return to the state we experienced in spring is not unlikely, even if hardly anyone except the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach likes to say it out loud.
This time the lockdown will hit many sectors of the economy harder, experts predict.
Especially in the catering and creative industries, the damage is unlikely to be repaired.
Anyone who bears responsibility now is under great pressure.
It is obvious that with this urgency not everything can run smoothly and perfectly.
And would uniform national rules really be better than regional approaches?
Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher has spoken out in favor of the Prime Minister's Conference of the federal states on Monday in the ARD morning magazine with a view to the middle of the week.
But even if there were, people would be affected by measures that they perceive to be disproportionate - especially if they live in areas where the number of cases and the 7-day incidence are lower than in hotspots.
What this means can be seen, for example, in Spain, where the government in Madrid unceremoniously imposed a lockdown on areas that were little affected by the pandemic.
Here too, people were angry about the resolutions.
Use common sense
That is why we will have to endure the inconsistent measures for the time being.
Much more helpful than getting excited about the fact that people in state A are still allowed to do this and that in state B would be to reflect on their own behavior.
Basically, in some areas of private life there would hardly be any need for regulations if one only used common sense.
But this realization has not reached everyone.
Again and again some people go overboard.
Illegal parties keep the police busy.
At the weekend, officials in Berlin broke up a fetish party that was attended by 600 people - after all, a scene in which masks are often worn.
The measures that we can all take are known and have hardly changed since spring: wash your hands, keep your distance and put on your mask.
So short, so easy.
If you think about it, a lot has already been achieved.
This also applies to the author of these lines, who also ran through Berlin-Mitte on Saturday and wondered where he had actually gotten into and how long he could hold his breath.
It was just a stupid idea to be out and about where there is only a meter of space to pass next to fully occupied restaurant tables.
Will not happen again.
Icon: The mirror
