Administrative court Würzburg: Livinguard masks are not enough

The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach has been seen wearing a mask made by the Swiss manufacturer Livinguard for a long time. MPs from other parties also like to wear the masks, which are not only supposed to filter the corona virus, but even kill it. They are sold throughout Europe from Karlstadt (Main-Spessart district). However, the manufacturer has a problem: they are not FFP2 certified. Since the FFP2 mask requirement in Bavaria, sales have therefore fallen massively. A Karlstadter who sells the masks has now failed with an application before the Würzburg Administrative Court to equate the “Livinguard Pro Mask” model with the FFP2 standard. The decision is before this editorial office.

The model, which can be washed and is considered a Type 1 medical face mask, is at least as good as an FFP2 mask, according to the applicant. Because according to the manufacturer, it not only has an aerosol filter effect of over 95 percent – 94 percent are required for an FFP2 mask – but also kills 99.9 percent of the Sars-CoV-2 viruses.

This has been shown by studies by the universities of FU Berlin and RWTH Aachen. The entrepreneur therefore wanted a temporary injunction to establish that the model at least complies with the FFP2 standard or is legally equivalent.

Beard wearers are not adequately protected by FFP2 masks

In no other federal state is there such a comprehensive FFP2 mask requirement as in Bavaria. When shopping or in local transport, you only need to wear a medical mask, including Livinguard’s. Only in hospitals and care facilities is there an obligation to use the FFP2 mask in some federal states.

As a beard wearer, an FFP2 mask does not adequately protect him from corona infections, according to the applicant from Karlstadt. His mask is better suited for beards because of the fit and the straps. In fact, a beard is a problem with FFP2 masks, as they do not lie completely against the facial contour due to the whiskers and are therefore not really tight. In order to meet the FFP2 standard, Livinguard would first have to develop a corresponding mask that meets the requirements of a breathable face mask and at the same time filters the finest dust particles, the applicant explained.

However, he sees it in this way that it only depends on the actual protective effect of the mask and not on the existence of a formal certification.

The decision of the court meets with a lack of understanding at Livinguard

The Bavarian Ministry of Health, as the respondent, argued, however, that this certification alone decides whether a mask is permissible within the meaning of the FFP2 mask requirement.

Any certification is not enough. The ministry could not evaluate individual masks in an urgent procedure. This may be a matter for the TÜV, certification bodies or university institutions in the context of studies.

The 8th Chamber of the Administrative Court of Würzburg rejected the plaintiff’s application. In accordance with the case law of the Bavarian Administrative Court, it is not objectionable that the Bavarian regulation not only requires an at least equivalent level of protection, but that an equivalent standardization must be given. To ensure quality, it is legally permissible to require a certain standardization. The applicant is free to pursue the certification that he has not yet received.

Dietholf Schröder, Managing Director of Livinguard in Germany and head of the Karlstadt site, said when asked about the court order: “We cannot understand that this is the case in Bavaria.” He finally creates jobs, according to Schröder now 20, and the mask is demonstrably better than FFP2 masks. The company tried to obtain FFP2 certification right from the start.

Just in order to meet the standard, however, she is not prepared to produce poorer masks. An application by the Swiss manufacturer for the cancellation of the Bavarian “FFP2 mask requirement” had already been rejected by the Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH). Schröder himself was not the one who went to court in Würzburg – “I’m not a bearded man” – but a customer who sells the masks as a private individual. Initially, the editorial team was unable to reach him.

The CSU member of the Bundestag Alexander Hoffmann from Retzbach (Main-Spessart district) reports that the CDU / CSU parliamentary group has obtained, among other things, “Livinguard pro masks” and that he likes to wear them. The VGH did not dispute the effectiveness of the mask at all, but had recognized that it is more practical if a mask can be “recognized as suitable at first glance”. This is difficult with the “Livinguard Pro”, which looks like a normal cloth mask.

Karl Lauterbach now mostly wears FFP3 masks. From his parliamentary office in Berlin it is said on request that he is still convinced of the Livinguard mask. MP Hoffmann believes that Lauterbach’s decision had to do with the appearance of the mask and that Lauterbach wanted to counter allegations that he was only wearing a cloth mask.Björn Kohlhepp

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