After weeks of negotiations, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) have agreed on a new version of the Infection Protection Act. It is intended to determine which restrictions will be possible in the fall in the fight against Covid. The current Corona rules are limited until September 23, the federal states require greater leeway for the autumn.
Lauterbach was satisfied with the new compromise. “I think the package is very good. We are ready for the fall,” he told the Funke media group’s newspapers. “At the same time, it protects us from being overburdened by too many Covid patients and from a critical situation caused by staff shortages.”
No curfews, no lockdowns
The Federal Minister of Health did not provide any further information on the contents of the “package”. However, the federal states should not be given such far-reaching opportunities as in the delta wave, as Justice Minister Buschmann announced at the end of last week: “Weeks ago I said clearly: No lockdowns, no curfews and no more school closures,” he tweeted. “I am pleased that Karl Lauterbach and I are now in agreement on this issue.”
Lauterbach also told ARD on Friday that school closures would no longer be possible. Overall, however, “many further measures” are planned for different scenarios, which the federal states and sometimes also the federal government could use.
Wrestling about mask requirements
There have always been controversial debates, in particular about further mask and test requirements. The FDP called for extensive personal responsibility, Lauterbach pushed for as many intervention options as possible in a critical pandemic situation. In particular, the SPD politician considers mask requirements indoors to be important.
Since spring – mainly due to pressure from the FDP – only “basic protection” has been allowed nationwide: Mask requirements in nursing homes, clinics and local transport as well as test requirements in certain facilities are possible.
No compulsory testing at Bavaria’s schools
In Bavaria, masks are still compulsory in hospitals and public transport. The obligation to test for hospital employees was recently relaxed. The obligation to test was abolished in Bavarian schools months ago and should not return for the new school year for the time being, as the cabinet decided a week ago.
The current Infection Protection Act only allows for stricter measures such as 2G and 3G and a mask requirement when shopping or in schools in “hotspots” – in specific regions for which the state parliament has identified a dangerous situation. According to Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), Bavaria considers this regulation to be impractical and unsuitable, so it was not used in the Free State.
Lauterbach fears a “very difficult” autumn
Meanwhile, Lauterbach again warned of a “very difficult” autumn: Even those who had been vaccinated four times with the previous vaccines only had less than 40 percent protection against infection with the Omicron variant BA.5. “We will therefore be in trouble in the autumn for two reasons: there will be a large number of hospital staff absenteeism, and at the same time the number of Covid patients in the normal and intensive care units will increase significantly,” said the minister. He fears that important infrastructure and hospitals could be overloaded.
According to Lauterbach, in order to assess the pandemic, comprehensive wastewater analyzes for the virus should also be carried out in the future: “We rely on a combination of incidence, admissions to the clinics and wastewater examinations.”
(With material from dpa and AFP)
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