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Man with a mask in the Berlin subway: a patchwork of regulations in the federal states
Photo:
Florian Gaertner / photo library / IMAGO
For Christian Drosten, the pandemic in Germany is over.
"We are experiencing the first endemic wave with Sars-CoV-2 this winter," said Germany's best-known virologist to the "Tagesspiegel".
It did not take long for these words to reignite the political debate about corona measures.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann called for all protective measures to be phased out.
"Christian Drosten was one of the most cautious scientists during the pandemic," wrote the FDP politician on Twitter.
»Now his conclusion is: The pandemic is over.
We are in the endemic state.
As a political consequence, we should end the last corona protection measures," Buschmann demanded.
The Minister of Justice also pointed out that no change in the law would be necessary for this.
The measures enshrined in the Infection Protection Act until April 7th, such as the obligation to wear a mask on long-distance trains or in care facilities, could therefore also be easily lifted by ordinance by the federal government.
"We should now make use of this opportunity," Buschmann wrote, according to the "Tagesspiegel" in a letter dated December 26 to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD).
The FDP received support from the Union, which called for a special conference with the Prime Ministers of the federal states and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) at the beginning of the year.
Lauterbach, however, rejected the calls for a quick end to the corona measures.
"An immediate end to all measures would be reckless and is not demanded by Christian Drosten either," said the SPD politician to the dpa news agency.
Which rules currently apply?
A FFP2 mask requirement for long-distance trains and long-distance buses is stipulated nationwide until April 7, 2023.
The mask requirement also applies in medical practices, clinics and nursing homes.
The countries, in turn, handle the corona measures, which are within their sovereignty, differently.
A patchwork of regulations has therefore emerged.
The mask requirement in local transport in Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt has already been abolished, and in Schleswig-Holstein it will expire at the end of the year.
Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and Rhineland-Palatinate have said goodbye to the obligation to isolate if the test is positive - and instead rely on a stricter mask requirement for infected people.
It remains to be seen in the coming weeks whether other countries will revise their rules after Drosten's statement and the voices from federal politics.
According to a dpa survey before Christmas, the majority of countries wanted to stick to measures.
The rules and statements with this status at a glance.
Baden-Wuerttemberg
In the Ländle, the mask requirement in local public transport applies at least until January 31st.
Then the current Corona Ordinance will expire.
The obligation to isolate has been abolished in Baden-Württemberg since mid-November.
In their place, infected people have been required to wear masks for five days outside their own homes.
Bavaria
In the Free State, the mask requirement in local transport ceased to apply on December 10th.
There has also no longer been an obligation to isolate since mid-November.
As in the neighboring state of Baden-Württemberg, those infected must wear a mask instead.
Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) demands that the mask requirement in long-distance transport must also be completely dropped, “preferably at the beginning of the new year”.
Berlin
In the capital, masks are still compulsory on public transport.
Also still active: The obligation to isolate for ten or five days, which has been freely tested.
"I do think that the mask requirement will be abandoned next year," said Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD).
"We have to get back to normality a bit." However, people are often standing close together in local transport, which is why the obligation to wear masks offers important protection, at least in winter.
Berlin's Corona Ordinance is valid until January 17, and Giffey wants to mark the further course at the beginning of the year - whereby she is striving for the most uniform possible approach by the federal states and, above all, a common line with neighboring Brandenburg.
Brandenburg
Brandenburg also continues to uphold its rules.
Wearing an FFP2 mask is mandatory on buses and trains.
The obligation to isolate for five days or with symptoms for up to ten days also applies.
The current regulation is valid until January 11th.
Bremen
"If the pandemic becomes an epidemic, then it makes sense to hand the responsibility for infection control back to the people," said Bremen Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD).
The Hanseatic city has set March 1 as the target for the end of the public transport mask requirement.
Masks must currently be worn on buses and trains.
The obligation to isolate for five days is also still active.
With Lower Saxony, Bremen has a large area as a neighbor.
"Because of the importance of cross-border traffic, it makes sense to have a uniform regulation," said Bovenschulte.
"If Lower Saxony then wants to phase out the mask requirement a few weeks later, we would certainly go along with it in the interests of uniformity."
Hamburg
Hamburg's head of government Peter Tschentscher (SPD) would also have liked a uniform approach, nationwide: He criticized the unilateral actions of some countries in lifting the isolation and mask requirements and wants to maintain both requirements until spring.
Hesse
Since November 23, Hesse has said goodbye to the obligation to isolate if the test is positive - and instead relies on a stricter mask requirement for infected people.
In local transport, people must continue to wear a medical mask.
Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) considers the mask requirement to be a relatively minor encroachment on personal rights, and his state government is not planning any further measures.
His experience as a citizen of Frankfurt: "The crowds are often so big on buses and trains that I would wear a mask myself - even if there were no obligation."
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
The state government in Schwerin would like to overturn the obligation to isolate and wear a mask after winter at the earliest.
"We are following the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute and the experts in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, who gave us good advice during the pandemic years," said Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD).
"And they strongly recommend that masks be worn on buses and trains, especially in the winter months, as well as the obligation to isolate." Schwesig regrets that there are now different rules from country to country.
Lower Saxony
For Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD), the following applies: First of all, get through the winter well.
“Then we will certainly be able to talk about whether we still need the protective measures in general in the spring.” Weil did not want to commit to a specific date.
The country is currently sticking to the mask requirement in local transport and five-day isolation for infected people.
North Rhine-Westphalia
An updated Corona Protection Ordinance has been in force in North Rhine-Westphalia since December 23.
The country is sticking to medical masks on public transport until further notice, as well as a five-day isolation requirement.
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate lifted the isolation requirement on November 26th.
However, still active: the mask requirement for buses and trains.
Saarland
Saar Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger (SPD) advised always keeping an eye on the "combination of regulations".
The mask requirement in local transport was maintained precisely because the isolation requirement for infected people in Saarland was eliminated on December 10th.
The calculus: one necessary evil enables the elimination of another.
Saxony
Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) wants to make a new decision in January on how to proceed.
However, he has already emphasized that personal responsibility when wearing a mask in local transport is important to him.
Until then, mouth and nose protection in local public transport and the obligation to isolate for those who have tested positive will remain in place.
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt was the first federal state to abolish the mask requirement in local transport on December 8th.
However, there is still a five-day isolation requirement.
When asked about the future corona course, Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff gave no dates for easing.
The CDU man is pragmatic: "We will see how the corona virus develops." If new mutations occur, one can react at short notice.
»But in principle it is correct that the regulations in the countries are being phased out.«
Schleswig Holstein
The mask requirement in local transport expires in Schleswig-Holstein at the end of the year.
The northernmost federal state said goodbye to the obligation to isolate if the test was positive on December 17th.
Thuringia
The Free State has already extended its corona rules until February 3rd - including the obligation to isolate and wear a mask in local transport.
According to the Ministry of Health, there could be easing in March.
kfr/dpa