The federal and state governments have decided to tighten corona measures: You will have to wear medical masks when shopping in the future.
This already applies in Bavaria.
On January 19, 2021, the federal and state governments discussed extending the current lockdown and tightening the current measures: The lockdown will be extended until February 14 *.
The new, tightened measures include the obligation to wear medical masks in shops and on buses and trains.
You can find out everything about the new regulations and other tips for safe shopping in Corona times here.
The
measures to contain the corona pandemic
in Germany were initially limited to the end of January, but have now been extended to February 14.
Angela Merkel justified the lockdown extension with the danger of the mutated corona virus.
You have to prevent the risks, otherwise the number of infections and deaths could rise sharply, as
reported by
the
Tagesschau
.
Stricter rules when shopping: Obligation to wear medical masks
The tightened measures in the fight against the coronavirus include the obligation to
wear
a so-called
medical mask
when shopping and on public transport
.
This includes surgical masks or certified masks with an integrated FFP filter (FFP2, FFP3, N95 or KN95).
These masks not only protect other people, but also the wearer better.
Self-made fabric masks will soon no longer be allowed in these places.
In Bavaria, the stricter mask requirement has been in effect since January 18, 2021. In the other federal states, the regulation will probably apply to all retailers from January 25, 2021: in addition to the
supermarket
, for example, at the bakery and at the gas station.
Authorities can even impose fines in the event of a violation.
The individual federal states still have to adopt corresponding regulations.
Due to the
tougher mask requirement
, the infection rate is to be further reduced.
When buying medical masks, make sure that they are really
certified and approved masks
: You can recognize this by the manufacturing codes printed on them: CE number, NR or R value and EU standard.
In Bavaria, the new mask regulation only applies to customers, not to retail employees.
For the time being, you can still wear a textile face mask, as Chip.de reports.
The trade associations of the other federal states will present possible concepts for a similar regulation to the state governments in the next few days.
The reason is that wearers of an FFP2 mask should take a 30-minute break after 75 minutes of work - difficult to implement in everyday work in retail.
Also read:
Buy FFP2 Mask: Offers on Amazon & Other Online Shops.
Shopping behavior in Corona times: Are there any more hamster purchases?
The
shopping behavior
of Germans has changed since the beginning of the corona pandemic: people rarely buy spontaneously.
Customers plan more precisely when they need to shop and prefer
one-off weekly purchases so
that
they have to go
to the supermarket less often and are less exposed to other people.
Since the mandatory FFP2 masks are more expensive than the previously valid fabric masks, which you could even sew yourself and should only be worn once, this could mean that people shop less often in order to save masks.
At the beginning of the Corona crisis, hamster purchases occurred in places, which led to temporary
bottlenecks in discounters and supermarkets
.
Flour, pasta and toilet paper in particular were popular products that were often out of stock.
In the meantime the situation has eased again, since worries about delivery bottlenecks are unfounded and hamsters are unnecessary.
Nevertheless, in some shops rules apply to
normal household quantities
in order to prevent panic purchases: For example, you may buy a maximum of two packs of flour and a maximum of two packs of toilet paper at once.
Also interesting:
Up to 92 percent: These foods have become more expensive during the Corona crisis.
Tips for shopping in Corona times: What you should keep in mind
Only
shop once a week
if possible
and wear your
medical / FFP2 mask
correctly.
If possible,
go shopping
alone
and not with children / partner.
Avoid
peak hours
: the shops are particularly full at lunchtime, after work and on Saturdays.
Maintain the recommended
safety distance
of 1.5 meters from other customers.
Write down a
shopping list
on which you sort the products according to the order in which they are in the supermarket: for example, fruit and vegetables at the beginning, frozen products at the very end.
This means you can move forward faster when shopping and don't have to go back.
First of all, wash your hands thoroughly at home and do not touch your face beforehand.
It is best to
wash your hands
again after emptying the shopping
bag
.
Many providers now offer the option of
ordering online and having
the
groceries and products delivered to your home
, for example from Edeka, Rewe, Amazon Fresh or Amazon Prime Now.
(mad) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Read more:
"Food Trend Report" 2021: How do eating habits change in times of Corona?
Whistle on the best before date: this is how you can tell whether a food has gone bad
Whistle on the best before date: this is how you can tell whether a food has gone bad
