Masks fall Sunday: Kretschmann relies on voluntariness

Created: 03/29/2022Updated: 03/29/2022 11:16 am

Winfried Kretschmann (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg.

© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa/archive image

The country still wants to play in the "Team Caution".

At the same time, the coalition believes that the federal government has tied its hands.

Now the exciting question is: How will the pandemic develop almost entirely without masks?

Stuttgart – Although the state of Baden-Württemberg has resisted this for a long time, almost all corona protection measures in the south-west will no longer apply this Sunday.

The coalition of Greens and CDU agreed on Tuesday not to apply the hotspot rules still provided for in federal law.

The background is that green-black, in contrast to Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD), doubts that the rules will stand up in court.

This means that as of Sunday, masks will no longer have to be worn indoors and access rules will no longer apply.

However, the country wants to try several measures to prevent the clinics from being overloaded, for example by relocating staff or using external nursing staff.

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Mask requirement indoors and in schools will be extended

Further criticism of the Corona hotspot regulation

The leaders of the Greens and CDU again sharply criticized the traffic light government in the federal government, which had changed the Infection Protection Act in such a way that after a transitional period until Saturday, hardly any conditions are possible.

Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann appealed to the people in the country to voluntarily continue to wear masks indoors in view of the continued high number of infections.

"In this way we not only protect our own health, but also show solidarity in the community," explained the Green and complained: "Unfortunately, the countries' scope for action has been significantly reduced."

From Sunday, according to the recently amended Infection Protection Act and a transitional period, mask requirements will only be possible to a limited extent, for example in clinics or nursing homes and on public transport.

Green-Black also wants to use these measures, it said on Tuesday.

Masks in shops or schools and 2G or 3G access rules can still exist, but only regionally if the respective state parliament determines a particularly critical corona situation there (hotspot rule).

The state government gave up on this.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) said: "Unfortunately, the federal government has closed the toolbox with the most effective instruments for combating pandemics in front of the states and taken them out of their hands." CDU parliamentary group leader Manuel Hagel added that the hotspot rule would help not further.

"It is the fig leaf with which the traffic light government in Berlin wants to conceal its political confusion - for us in Baden-Württemberg it is not applicable simply because of the many legal inaccuracies."

FDP faction leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke was satisfied.

"I welcome the fact that this state government is not trying to abuse the federal infection protection law to declare the whole country a hotspot." It is right to give people their freedom rights back.

Since the Omikron variant is milder, the clinics are no longer overloaded and spring is near, that is responsible.

He contradicted green-black in terms of regional hotspots.

"Should the situation worsen again regionally, the Federal Infection Protection Act offers sufficient options for action."

The coalition emphasized that they continue to follow a "course of caution and prudence".

The aim is to prevent hospitals from being overburdened by flexibly exchanging staff.

In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs and specialist politicians from the parliamentary groups should develop a plan under which circumstances nurses can continue to work even if they are infected but have no symptoms.

At the moment, the clinics are not yet at the limit when it comes to the beds occupied by Covid patients.

What bothers them, however, is that many nurses are in quarantine because of an infection.

The Greens and CDU also want to relieve the health authorities in monitoring the pandemic in the foreseeable future.

"The conceptual foundations for further action after the fifth wave has subsided must already be laid today - especially with a view to monitoring the infection process, a uniform framework for isolation and the test strategy," says the statement from the State Ministry.

The federal and state health ministers decided on Monday to review the quarantine and isolation rules.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is to clarify "whether and for how long it is advisable to isolate infected people and contact persons in the current pandemic phase".

Green parliamentary group leader Andreas Schwarz said: “We support the expert hearing on the test and vaccination strategy planned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and are confident that we can come to effective regulations for dealing with Corona with a view to the coming autumn.” dpa