The corona measures in Germany will expire on March 20th. But there are other considerations after that.
Munich – After lengthy negotiations, the traffic light coalition has agreed on a new infection protection law, with which certain corona protection measures should continue to be possible after March 19. Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) said on Wednesday in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”: “I think we have found a very good compromise.” He negotiated this with Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) until Tuesday.
New Corona rules: Lauterbach continues to insist on basic measures
Lauterbach also said in the “Morgenmagazin” that certain basic measures should still be possible with the new regulation. This includes wearing masks, including on public transport, or testing vulnerable groups in nursing homes or hospitals. “Of course, opening everything is not planned,” added the Minister of Health.
The agreement, which is expected to be approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, also includes a hotspot rule. “If the number of cases is high or even increasing, and hospital care is even at risk, then further measures can be taken again immediately,” said Lauterbach. The state parliaments could then “decide immediately”.
The picture is probably a reference draft with the individual points. The draft must then pass the Bundestag and Bundesrat in the coming week in order to be able to come into force in time on March 20th. The previous legal basis for the Corona measures expires on March 19.
These basic corona measures should remain in place
Even without an epidemic emergency of national scope, certain measures should remain in place from March 20th. As the picture reports, it should be the following:
- Mask requirement: It will probably remain in retirement homes and hospitals to protect vulnerable people. And it should also continue to apply to guests and employees in local public transport – but the mask should probably no longer be necessary in long-distance transport .
- Test obligation: In places where vulnerable groups are, i.e. old people’s homes and hospitals , a negative rapid test must still be presented. In schools, prisons and other group accommodations , the obligation to test should also remain in place.
New regulations for the hotspots
It should be possible for regional hotspots to impose tougher measures if “there is a concrete risk of a dynamically spreading infection situation”. However, according to Bild , the state parliaments would have to determine such a situation and the respective region by vote.
According to the draft available to the newspaper, such a situation should exist if a more deadly corona variant occurs in a region or if the regional health system is at risk of being overloaded due to the high number of infections. There is no specific threshold. The federal states would therefore have a lot of leeway. The rules would then be:
- A mask requirement in public spaces.
- Distance requirements and hygiene concepts , primarily indoors.
- Access restrictions for places open to the public, with 2G, 3G or similar.
While the new rules are being decided, the corona numbers in Germany are rising again. (md with AFP) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
