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Medical masks mandatory from now on: A woman wears an FFP2 mask in the Munich subway
Photo: Frank Hoermann / SVEN SIMON / imago images / Sven Simon
Despite what is probably the most difficult phase of the corona pandemic that Germany is in these weeks, the decision document that Merkel agreed on with the prime ministers reads almost optimistically in some parts.
There is a "perspective for a normalization of our everyday life and a return to a life without pandemic-related restrictions," says the paper that is available to SPIEGEL.
The number of new infections is going down slightly, the capacity utilization of the intensive care beds as well, and the vaccination campaign has started successfully.
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However, the slight glimmer of hope is not reflected in a relaxation of the corona measures.
The concern about the new corona mutations such as variant B.1.1.7 from Great Britain is too great.
Whether and how much the mutants affect the infection process needs to be researched further, it says in the paper.
The existing shutdown will therefore be extended until February 14th.
The contact restriction to one's own household plus one additional person remains, the schools and kindergartens remain closed.
In the future, there will be stricter mask requirements in public transport and in shops, and working from home should become more possible.
The federal and state governments agreed on this during their deliberations on Tuesday afternoon.
The most important points at a glance.
What's new?
The tightened mask requirement is coming: According to the resolution, citizens will have to wear medical masks in local public transport and when shopping.
In retirement and nursing homes, the staff is even obliged to put on the even more effective FFP2 masks.
There is also a right to work from home: employers must, wherever possible, »enable employees to work from home«, provided that the activities allow it.
In companies where workers still have to be present and no distance can be kept, the wearing of medical masks is mandatory.
What is a medical mask?
What are meant are so-called surgical masks that cover the mouth and nose.
Virus-filtering half-masks are also permitted, at least in the European standard FFP2 or the Chinese format KN95.
In Bavaria, there has been a stricter mask requirement since Monday, there even only from models of levels FFP2 upwards.
You can be on the safe side if you pay attention to the CE label on the packaging: The label identifies the masks as medical products.
Self-made fabric masks, other everyday masks and face visors are no longer allowed.
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices provides a precise overview here.
Will I be reimbursed for the cost of buying a mask?
No.
The federal-state resolution does not provide for reimbursement of costs or subsidies for masks that are bought for use in public spaces.
The situation is different with masks that are mandatory in the workplace: They should be provided by employers, the employees do not have to dig into their pockets.
What now applies to private gatherings?
Further tightening of contacts in the private sector was not decided.
Citizens are urged to keep all contacts to a minimum in the next three weeks and to stay within their own four walls if possible.
As before, private get-togethers are permitted between members of a household and a person who does not live there.
The number of households from which these contact persons come should be kept as constant and as low as possible - that is, the "social bubble" should contain as few people as possible.
Because respiratory diseases spread easily in winter anyway and the mutations of the SARS-CoV2 virus are presumably more contagious, the government asks for increased vigilance.
When do the schools open again?
In the proposal for the meeting, the Federal Chancellery wanted nationwide distance teaching by mid-February, but the states insisted on an extension of the regulations that had been in place since December: according to which each state can decide for itself whether to return to the classroom.
The compromise: It will stay that way, but the implementation should be more "restrictive" than before.
After all, two points were undisputed: that missing face-to-face lessons should not be canceled without replacement, but replaced as far as possible by distance learning - and that there should be exceptions at least for the final classes so that the students can prepare for their exams.
What's next with the daycare centers?
The regulations for schools should also apply to day-care centers.
So if schoolchildren are allowed to return to the classroom in smaller groups, then care in the day-care center should start again at the same time.
Originally, the Chancellery suggested that kindergartens should only be reopened with an incidence of less than 50 days.
In any case, parents should inform themselves about the further procedure on site from the providers of the childcare facilities.
What about emergency care?
In their resolution, the heads of government emphasize that daycare centers and schools are "of the utmost importance for the education of children and for the compatibility of family and work of the parents".
As before, all educational institutions should therefore continue to provide emergency care.
The federal states do not regulate which families can take advantage of this offer: In some states there are lists of systemically relevant professions, in others the parents decide whether there is a need for emergency care.
Sometimes a certificate from the employer is required, sometimes not.
The maximum age of children who can go to emergency care is also not standardized.
Will public transport be discontinued?
No.
Rather, the opposite is planned: so that fewer passengers crowd into the buses and trains, more vehicles should be used during peak times.
At the same time, as many people as possible should work from home.
What measures must retirement and nursing homes take?
The management of old people's and nursing homes in Germany are made responsible by the Chancellery.
In the future, due to the still high corona incidence, an FFP2 mask is required for staff when they come into contact with residents.
As long as no second vaccination dose has been administered in a facility and immunity has been built up, rapid tests in the facilities remain the tried and tested means of containing the spread of the virus.
For this reason, mandatory testing for visitors and several times a week for the staff of the elderly and care facilities was ordered.
According to the federal and state governments, a lack of personnel capacities for such tests should be covered in the short term by Bundeswehr soldiers and, in a second step, by volunteers.
Aid organizations take over the training, while the municipal umbrella organizations recorded regional needs, it said.
The Federal Employment Agency will support the placement.
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More tests are also to be carried out in facilities for people with disabilities.
For providers of integration assistance, the federal government bears the personnel costs for testing.
The regulation already made in the Coronavirus Test Ordinance applies to material costs.
How do the churches protect their worshipers?
When conducting church services, tried and tested measures are used: All meetings of believers in churches, synagogues and mosques as well as meeting places of other religious communities are only permitted under the following conditions: The minimum distance of 1.5 meters is maintained, congregational singing is prohibited and masking is required also in place.
As in public transport and shopping, only medical masks are allowed at meetings in places of worship.
What is new is that meetings with more than ten participants must be reported to the responsible regulatory office at least two working days in advance.
Do I have to go to the home office now?
Depends on.
The federal and state governments could not bring themselves to the previously discussed compulsory home office - however, working at home is to be expanded.
"To this end, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will issue an ordinance according to which employers must allow employees to work from home wherever possible, provided that the activities allow it," says the resolution.
What this ordinance looks like is still unclear - including what exactly employers must then make possible.
At least one thing is already clear: Wherever work has to be continued on site and no distance can be maintained, the wearing of medical masks will be mandatory.
The companies bear the costs.
All the regulations apply until February 14th.
The federal and state governments want to come together again in advance, possibly to sharpen them again - or to loosen them up.
At the same time, a longer-term »opening strategy« is to be worked on.
Those responsible from the Federal Chancellery and the State and Senate Chancelleries should form a corresponding working group.
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