Prime Minister Weil wants to stick to the mask requirement in his state

Created: 2022-03-27Updated: 2022-03-27 12:42 p.m

By: Fabian Raddatz

Because would like to stick to the mask requirement in Lower Saxony.

© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

Prime Minister Weil wants to stick to the mask requirement in Lower Saxony.

But his hands are tied by the new federal infection protection law.

Hanover – He would like to declare all of Lower Saxony a corona hot sport, said Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ).

But his hands are tied by the new federal law on infection protection, although Germany is still in the middle of the corona pandemic, mainly caused by omicron and the subtype BA.2 of the corona variant, while a new omicron symptom after a corona infection keeps research going.

Actually, he would also like to stick to the mask requirement, but that is not provided for in the new Corona law either.

“If I could, I would very much like to stick to the general mask requirement for Lower Saxony, for example.

But if you take a sober look at the text of the law, the current situation doesn't give it away," said Weil to the NOZ.

Corona in Lower Saxony: Radical change in the mask requirement is imminent

Because the hotspot regulation states that all protective measures should fall on April 2nd.

Only in corona hotspots - such as affected districts, cities, federal states - should it be possible to use some.

Lower Saxony also plans to follow the federal government after the current end of the transitional regulation and drop many measures.

The Corona rules in the supermarket are also changing, and a radical change in the mask requirement is imminent.

Likewise in retail.

Protective masks should then only be worn in hospitals, care facilities, medical practices and on public transport.

Corona in Lower Saxony: no criteria for hotspot regulation

While politicians in Berlin are considering the implementation of the measures in the 2022 relief package, which should contain a tank discount as a fuel price brake, a child bonus, a subsidy to Hartz IV, an energy flat rate and a 9-euro ticket for bus and train, there would theoretically be a resumption of the Wearing a mask is conceivable as part of the corona hotspot regulation.

For example, if the hospitals were overloaded, but that is not the case in Lower Saxony at the moment - despite the high number of new infections and peak values ​​in the seven-day incidence due to Omikron.

Another criterion would be the spread of a dangerous corona variant, but that is not currently the case in Lower Saxony either.

The omicron variant is currently rampant.

They have taken all protective measures away from us.

Lower Saxony's Health Minister Daniela Behrens on the federal hotspot regulation

"As soon as we see an opportunity to create a legally secure hotspot regulation in Lower Saxony, we will present it to the state parliament," said Lower Saxony's Health Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD).

She recently shot against the federal law, saying: “They took all protective measures away from us.” Weil also called the hotspot law “insufficient” with regard to the infection situation.

New Corona regulation: Masks are no longer mandatory – this is how other federal states deal with them

But there are also federal states that deal with the hotspot issue differently.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has declared the whole country a hotspot until April 27th.

Hamburg also wants to follow the idea, although it is the state with the lowest incidence nationwide.

Bremen is sticking to Lower Saxony and also sees no legal basis for sticking to the general mask requirement and access restrictions beyond April 2nd.

Since there are still some open questions about the hotspot regulation - the law does not say when it should take effect - Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland asked the federal government on Friday to clarify them quickly .

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to talk to the federal states about the topic on Monday, March 28, 2022.

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