Retailers: No obligation to wear masks on your own - German trade association without recommendation
Created: 03/23/2022, 15:24
By: Anna Lorenz
The change in the Infection Protection Act means that masks are no longer required in supermarkets on both sides of the plexiglass pane.
© Anton Novoderezhkin ITAR-TAS/imago
"Freedom Day" light: From April 2, 2022, masks will no longer be compulsory in large parts of public life in Germany.
How things will continue in the trade with regard to FFP2 and Co. is still completely open.
Berlin – The corona pandemic has been dividing minds for over two years.
While some are now vehemently demanding the long-awaited "Freedom Day", Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach points out that the end of the pandemic is not yet in sight.
Until, according to the epidemiologist, a general obligation to vaccinate is not enforced,
protective measures
would be unavoidable.
Nevertheless, the first relaxations are already in force across Bavaria.
for example, the specifications for capacity and maximum number of people no longer apply.
But what remains
until April 2, 2022
is the obligation to
wear a mask
, which characterizes everyday life, especially when shopping for groceries, drugstore items and the like.
The following video shows exactly
what applies in this
transition phase:
Survey shows: German retailers do not want to make masks compulsory on their own
However, if the legal obligation to wear a mask no longer applies on April 2, 2022, this does not automatically mean that visits to Rewe, Aldi and Co. are possible without a mouth and nose cover.
House rules leave it up to the retailers themselves to decide
to what extent they want to rely on protective measures.
From April 2, 2022, retailers will have to decide for themselves to what extent they want to maintain the mask requirement.
© Jan Huebner Blatterspiel/imago
According to AFP, however, a survey by the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND, Wednesday editions) among the large supermarket chains and associations revealed that retailers do not want to take advantage of this option across the board.
A generalized obligation to wear masks on one’s own initiative is therefore ruled out according to the current interim status.
"The mask is now part of everyday life for many customers, but it is not a permanent solution," explains the general manager of the German trade association, Stefan Genth, to the RND.
Mask requirement in retail - German trade association without recommendation
"The medical experts have to assess when the time has come for the mask requirement to be lifted," the German trade association continues, which clearly refrains from taking its own position in the debate - in contrast to the Bavarian trade association, which found clear words for the mask off.
Various supermarket and discounter chains are also initially keeping a low profile.
Among other things, they wanted to "wait and see the political discussion [...]", for example Aldi-Nord told the RND.
Lidl and Kaufland, as well as Rewe, generally refer to the law.
"We are conscientiously implementing the orders made by the authorities," said Rewe.
The Edeka Group pointed out that the owner-managed branches could "decide independently on all measures in their stores" - there is therefore no general requirement.
It remains to be seen how this will affect the current figures from the RKI.
(askl)