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On February 2nd, the last bastion of the mask requirement in public transport falls (symbol image)
Photo: Aliaksandr Barysenka/EyeEm/Getty Images
You can feel it on the bus, you can feel it in the pub, you can feel it in the office: Corona is gradually becoming a side note.
Even news about highly contagious new sub-lines like XBB.1.5 more or less fizzle out in the flood of news about war, climate protests and political capers.
At the end of December, Christian Drosten, one of the nation's most reliable and competent corona explainers, made it clear in an interview with the Tagesspiegel: "In my opinion, the pandemic is over." That was the case for many representatives of "Team Caution" ( including the author of this text).
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On Thursday, however, the pandemic was spontaneously revived.
In the "Coronavirus Update" podcast, the virologist explained that his statements had been misunderstood.
"What I said is: I expect that the coming winter wave will be more of an endemic wave (...) and that the pandemic will then be over." The end of the pandemic cannot be announced in advance, you can do that only in hindsight – i.e. after this wave.
So after the wave is not before the wave – or vice versa.
Be that as it may: In fact, Drosten has always tried to make extremely careful, differentiated assessments.
But he could have let this misunderstanding, which caused so much optimism, rest.
The compulsory masquerade is ended
Or clarify earlier: After all, the quotes from the Tagesspiegel have also led to political calls for further easing.
After all, you can't just carry on as before when one of the most influential scientists unofficially announces the end of the pandemic.
However, the loosening friends can rejoice despite the pandemic comeback: the last bastion of the mask requirement will fall nationwide on February 2nd.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, the great admonisher of the past few years, announced this on Friday.
"We simply have to rely more on personal responsibility and voluntary participation," said the minister.
However, these steps should not be allowed to play down the disease.
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Personal responsibility is one of those things.
One would think that it is not so difficult to wear a mask in appropriate situations, not to go to work sick or to keep an appropriate distance.
Attentive observations in the big city sometimes prove the opposite.
With regard to New Year's Eve and firecrackers, the concept of »personal responsibility« has recently been put to the test.
But it doesn't help: You have to trust that the majority of people will behave responsibly if, for example, the reason for infection control measures is explained to them in a comprehensible way.
In this respect, the abolition of the mask requirement is an overdue and inevitable step towards normality.
There is no other way in a liberal constitutional state.
Even authoritarian regimes run into major problems when their citizens no longer understand the measures taken to combat the virus - as was impressively observed in China.
Goodbye Lothar!
In addition to Corona explainer Drosten and Corona reminder Lauterbach, the top Corona administrator Lothar Wieler is still missing in the triumvirate of the pandemic.
His house, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), provides the numbers, data and facts on which political decisions are based - or based.
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On Wednesday, the RKI surprisingly announced that President Wieler was leaving the authority.
"The step is taken in agreement with the Federal Minister of Health, Prof. Karl Lauterbach," write those responsible in the statement.
This is also worth mentioning because things did not always run smoothly between the authority and the ministry.
Wieler would now like to "devote more time to research and teaching" again.
It was granted to him after three turbulent years.
Lauterbach honors the RKI boss by stating that without him Germany “would have come through this pandemic much worse”.
Find out in this review whether he actually did such a good job.
In any case, it shouldn't be long before the pandemic ends.
Wieler resigns, no kidding, from his position at the RKI on April 1st.
Perhaps that would be a worthy occasion for Drosten to declare the pandemic over.
But then please finally.
With material from the dpa
