End of the Corona measures: Which rules still apply where?

Masks, compulsory isolation or testing: After almost three years of the pandemic, most protective measures in public spaces are no longer applicable. But not all. Which rules still apply in which places?

What rules now apply to public transport?

While you have been allowed to sit on airplanes without a mask for months, an FFP2 mask was still mandatory on long-distance buses and long-distance trains. But from now on this mask requirement is suspended. The Federal Ministry of Health justifies the easing with a significantly relaxed infection situation. The forecasts are also more favorable than previously assumed. A large winter wave is no longer expected.

From now on, mouth and nose protection will no longer be required in local transport in all federal states. Nevertheless, the Federal Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach, recommends wearing masks voluntarily to protect yourself and others.

What regulations are there for the workplace?

The previous Corona Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance has been repealed with immediate effect. Certain hygiene concepts or the possibility of working from home – keyword home office – are no longer mandatory. The plexiglass panes at the supermarket checkouts will probably disappear soon. However, companies are free to set protection rules individually.

There is one big exception: it affects employees of medical facilities such as hospitals, doctor’s offices or nursing homes. The mask is still mandatory there, sometimes also a negative test result. But here, too, things are being relaxed: in Bavaria, for example, where particularly strict rules once applied, masks are no longer required for employees in doctor’s offices.

From the Federal Ministry of Health it says: The nationwide regulations could soon be lifted, but before that the situation will be examined again in detail.

Are there still corona rules at all?

Masks are still mandatory nationwide for visitors to hospitals, medical practices and care facilities. Negative tests are also sometimes required. In some federal states – for example in Berlin and Brandenburg – there are still special rules, for example an obligation to isolate.

The rules for people entering from abroad have already been relaxed, but not completely abolished. However: Anyone who comes from an area with a worrying virus variant – for example from China – must present a negative test before boarding the plane to Germany. The regulations for this currently apply until April 7th, which is Good Friday. After that, the Infection Protection Act expires.

Is the pandemic over now?

Covid-19 is not gone, but the disease has lost its horror in Germany. The virus usually no longer causes such severe symptoms, also because many people have formed antibodies against the virus. Either because they have been vaccinated or because they have gone through an infection. Experts are therefore increasingly speaking of an endemic situation.

From a global perspective, the situation is not viewed quite as relaxed. There have been a total of about 170,000 Covid-19-related deaths in the past two months. The World Health Organization refers to this and therefore continues to speak of an international health emergency. This is the WHO’s highest alert level.