Bodo Ramelow does not want to approve the Infection Protection Act

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Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow

Photo: Martin Schutt / dpa

Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow considers the decision not to lift the facility-related corona vaccination requirement for employees in the health sector to be wrong.

'I don't understand.

The Federal Infection Protection Act will not have my approval in this form,” said the left-wing politician of the German Press Agency.

He will inform the members of the red-red-green state government about his position.

The law is on the agenda at the Federal Council meeting this Friday after it has already been passed by the Bundestag.

Ramelow is also currently President of the Bundesrat.

The obligation to vaccinate and fines for non-compliance have been the cause of criticism and resistance from many employees in the health sector for months.

"There shouldn't be any more strife just because the Bundestag didn't have the power to decide on a general obligation to vaccinate," said Ramelow.

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He pointed out that Thuringia's Health Minister Heike Werner (left) had also written to the federal government with criticism of this regulation in the Infection Protection Act.

It is also unacceptable that the health authorities have to get into operational conflicts because of the controversial facility-related vaccination requirement, said Ramelow.

According to an internal agreement in the Bundesrat, the red-red-green coalition in Thuringia abstains if there are different views on an upcoming decision within the three parties Left, SPD and Greens.

Formally, however, there is no abstention in the Federal Council, said Ramelow.

"The President of the Federal Council only asks who agrees."

There has also been criticism of the law from other countries.

Schleswig-Holstein's Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) told the "Bild" newspaper: "The new Infection Protection Act is a disaster for schoolchildren." Prien is particularly angry about the rules for returning to school after an infection.

In general, the RKI has ordered infected citizens to be in isolation for five days.

However, children are only allowed to go back to school with a negative test.

“The result of the regulation is that only those who have had a negative corona test in the test center or have been certified healthy by the doctor are allowed to go back to school.”

mfh/dpa