Federal President: The ultimate goal is to keep schools open

Despite the dramatically increasing corona numbers, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has spoken out against school and daycare closings.

"It must now be our primary goal to keep daycare centers and schools open," said Steinmeier on Friday in a video address for the 10th German School Directors' Congress in Düsseldorf.

Düsseldorf - Children and adolescents who could not have been vaccinated or only recently had to pay a high price at the beginning of the pandemic to protect the elderly, Steinmeier said.

School closings have led to the fact that especially the students, who have a harder time studying anyway, have fallen further behind.

“And we now also know that many young people are still suffering from the physical and mental consequences of isolation and loneliness,” said the Federal President.

"It is now up to us to protect the younger generation from further damage."

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Wüst wants free corona tests for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered

The German Medical Association is calling for a quick return to free corona rapid tests.

The end of the assumption of costs for so-called citizen tests did not motivate those unwilling to be vaccinated, President Klaus Reinhardt told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Sunday).

The federal and state governments should therefore have the courage to correct this wrong decision quickly and consistently.

Wüst wants free corona tests for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered

Construction control: authorities uncover illegal employment

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As the state government and the General Customs Directorate announced on Tuesday, control teams with over 600 emergency workers checked a total of 132 construction sites with 692 employers and around 1900 employees.

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SPD: Suspending the mask requirement in class is a mistake

The SPD opposition in North Rhine-Westphalia described the lifting of the mask requirement in class as a serious mistake.

In times of increasing numbers of new infections, the coronavirus is given the opportunity to spread even further, criticized the vice-chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Jochen Ott, on Friday in a current hour in the Düsseldorf state parliament.

SPD: Suspending the mask requirement in class is a mistake

It must therefore be ensured that daycare centers and schools remain open.

“And we all know how to do that: Get vaccinated and renew your vaccination protection.” Steinmeier also called for voluntary reductions in contacts.

dpa