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Control of the federal police for compliance with the mask requirement (archive image)
Photo: Christoph Soeder / dpa
Denmark will almost completely overturn the mask requirement from this Monday.
With the exception of public transport, people are again allowed to move without the mouth and nose protection - this also applies to schools and shops, among other things.
This decision in the northern neighboring country also sparked a new debate in Germany over the weekend about the mask requirement in public life.
Now the Federal Minister of Health has also commented on the subject.
Jens Spahn (CDU) considers a gradual end of the mask requirement to be conceivable in view of the sharply falling infection numbers - but advises in case of doubt to continue wearing mouth and nose protection.
"In the case of falling incidences, we should proceed in stages: In a first step, the requirement to wear a mask outside can generally be omitted," Spahn told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Monday).
In regions with a very low incidence and a high vaccination rate, the obligation could gradually be dropped indoors.
»As a recommendation, there is always a simple rule: if in doubt, wear a mask - especially when traveling and when meeting indoors.
There is only more security if everyone present is either vaccinated or tested regularly. "
The FDP and AfD called for a complete repeal.
Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) said that if the Infection Protection Act was strictly interpreted, the general mask requirement would have to be lifted, especially outside.
With a clear incidence below 35, the state should "not restrict any basic rights for all citizens."
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach and CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt consider relaxation only possible outside, but not inside.
Lauterbach linked on Twitter to an article about Kubicki's demands and wrote: "A complete waiver of the mask requirement shortly before the vaccination of millions is only one thing: election campaign with the health of the citizens." Of course, the mask requirement could be lifted almost everywhere outside, there there is no superspreading.
"But unfortunately inside," added Lauterbach.
Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) called on the federal states to clarify whether and where a mask requirement was still proportionate.
Especially for students who have to wear masks for hours in class, this is a burden, she said the "Bild am Sonntag".
Pharmacies issue proof of vaccination
The nationwide seven-day incidence of corona infections has now fallen further and is now 17.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
As the Robert Koch Institute reported on Sunday morning, citing information from the health authorities, 1489 new infections and 18 deaths in connection with the virus were registered within one day.
From this Monday, pharmacies in Germany will gradually start issuing digital vaccination certificates.
However, the pharmacists' associations pointed out that the number of participating pharmacies was still limited in the first few days for technical and organizational reasons.
People who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus can later pick up a certificate with the QR code required for the digital vaccination pass.
The number of infections continued to decline in Germany over the weekend.
Fewer risk areas abroad
There is also relaxation with the restrictions on travel abroad.
The whole of Austria and numerous other countries and regions have no longer been considered risk areas since Sunday.
The federal government also removed the remaining two Austrian federal states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, popular travel destinations for Germans, from the risk list, as well as parts of Greece, Croatia and Switzerland.
The islands of Madeira in Portugal and Cyprus as well as twelve other countries in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia and North America are no longer considered risk areas after the falling number of corona infections, including the USA and Canada.
Anyone who comes to Germany from one of these areas by land will no longer have to observe any entry restrictions due to Corona in the future.
Air passengers still have to show a negative test
jok / dpa
