The first federal states have lifted the mask requirement in schools.
There are increasing calls for a general relaxation.
The CSU applies the brakes.
Virologists, teachers and retailers also urge caution.
Munich - The debate had begun with the schools, and over the weekend it grew into a general discussion about the mask requirement *.
Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had rushed forward at the beginning of last week and announced the end of the mask requirement in their schools.
Bavaria's Minister of Education, Michael Piazolo (Free Voters) then questioned the mask requirement during class.
He called for “an intensive exchange” for a nationwide approach.
Munich's Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD *), strengthened by Piazolo's initiative, repeated the call he had made months ago for the end of the mask requirement in elementary schools.
Bavaria: end of the mask requirement in schools?
Teachers hardly vaccinated so far - representatives against repeal
Teacher representatives do not want to join this so far. Heinz-Peter Meidinger, President of the German Teachers' Association, referred on Monday to "increased numbers of infections among children and adolescents". They have hardly been vaccinated so far. In addition, only half of the teachers are fully vaccinated.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder * (CSU) said on Monday that it would be difficult to relax indoors, such as in schools.
According to reports, his cabinet will not deal with this for the time being.
Söder also emphasized that it was up to the federal states to decide on issues relating to the mask requirement.
He thinks it is "a shame if the federal government, without any competence in the matter and without any competence, makes a proposal to the states at this point".
Alexander Dobrindt, head of the CSU * regional group in the Bundestag, said that one could talk about easing outdoors, and that he advised caution indoors because of new mutations.
Check corona rules: Söder and Dobrindt counter Spahn - Lambrecht's demand is heatedly discussed
Söder and Dobrindt responded to statements by Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) and Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), among others.
In
Bild am Sonntag
Lambrecht
asked the federal states to check “whether and where a mask requirement is still proportionate if the incidence figures are low and continue to fall”.
This also applies to schools.
Spahn suggested a gradual abolition, "now outside, gradually inside".
FDP and AfD demanded the complete lifting of the mask requirement.
Corona: "Bavaria is not doing better either" - SPD calls for a relaxation of the FFP2 obligation
The Bavarian SPD wants a softening in view of the burden on the elderly and people with health problems. The FFP2 standard for masks is only prescribed in Bavaria, without Bavaria "being in a noticeably better position," said Florian von Brunn, parliamentary group leader in the state parliament.
The regulation of the mask requirement is currently largely subject to the federal states, and municipalities can decide on the details.
For example, the outdoor mask requirement for downtown Munich recently fell.
The trade welcomes this in this individual case, but does not demand a general end for the mask.
The Bavarian Trade Association does not want to shake the FFP2 mask requirement in shops.
Spokesman Bernd Ohlmann told our newspaper: “Customers write to us that they will no longer come to the shops if the FFP2 mask requirement is no longer applicable.
Presumably the majority see it that way at the moment. ”And, depending on the local situation, municipalities should be able to issue a mask requirement in pedestrian zones.
Mask requirement: Munich epidemiologist urgently recommends protection - "simple and effective"
Eva Grill, President of the German Society for Epidemiology, considers wearing a mask indoors to be important. "Masks are simple and effective protection, especially indoors," says the epidemiologist from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. It is also about protecting against new, more contagious variants of the virus.
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