IIn the fight against the Corona crisis, the mask requirement will continue to apply in Germany for the time being – also in retail. The 16 health ministers of the states agreed on Monday, as the German press agency learned from participants after a switching conference between the state department heads and Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU). The reason given was that the wrong impression should not be created that the pandemic was over. Previously, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had given a clear rejection of the lifting of the mask requirement in shops – with the support of the party leadership of the CDU, CSU and SPD.
“Wherever the minimum distance cannot be guaranteed in public life, masks are an important and, from today’s point of view, indispensable means,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in Berlin. This is necessary to keep the number of infections low and to protect other people and yourself. “So: whether on the bus, in the subway or in retail, it should remain the duty to wear masks.”
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Harry Glawe (CDU), suggested that the mask requirement be lifted for his country in the “Welt am Sonntag”. Almost without exception, he received negative reactions for this advance.
Seibert added that it is important to keep it now during the holiday season. “Even regions that may now have very low case numbers are now getting inflows from other parts of the country.” The new mobility is to be welcomed. “But it must go hand in hand with observing the rules that have served us so well in the fight against this pandemic in the past few months, namely distance, hygiene rules and, where necessary, mandatory masking.”
The leadership of the CDU argued similarly. “Corona is not on vacation,” said General Secretary Paul Ziemiak after the last video consultations before the summer break. The presidium and board of the CDU are unanimously of the opinion that, despite the positive development of the corona infection situation in Germany, there is no reason to abandon the mask requirement or the requirement to keep your distance. “Wearing a mask is sexy,” said Ziemiak.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister and CSU boss Markus Söder said that the mask requirement would in no case be relaxed or abolished. This is one of the very few instruments when it comes to protection against the corona virus. The mask requirement has also proven itself in everyday life.
The SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken said in Calw that the corona threat was far from being overcome. It is still urgently necessary to keep your distance and to pay attention to the hygiene rules so that there is no second wave and no second lockdown. “We all have a great responsibility there. That is why I strongly recommend that you continue to comply with the mask requirement. ”The co-chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans said on Sunday evening on“ Bild live ”that“ wearing a mask in shops is an imposition, but an acceptable one ”.
Health Minister Spahn also urged caution. “I understand the impatience and the desire for normalcy. But the virus is still there. Where the necessary distance is not always ensured in closed rooms, the everyday mask is required, ”wrote the CDU politician on Sunday evening on Twitter.
Only the AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla called for the mask requirement to be abolished. “The effect of mouth and nose masks is not only controversial medically, the masks are also an increasing threat to local retailers,” he argued on Monday. He can well understand that many citizens with masks are reluctant to do their shopping. The sales would then be generated on the Internet.
“We have to be careful”
A spokesman for the trade association HDE supported this argument. “We find that masks inhibit customers’ desire to shop,” he told the “Rheinische Post” (Tuesday). The decision as to whether the mask requirement remains or not, however, would have to be made by politicians and medical professionals and not by trade.
Even before the decision by the health ministers, many countries had refused to abolish it. “Wearing an everyday mask helps to reduce the risk of infection,” said Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) in Mainz. “Masks are therefore a relatively small effort with a great effect and – in connection with contact restrictions and high hygiene standards – an important, also scientifically proven means in the fight against the virus.”
“For Berlin, the abolition of the obligation to wear mouth and nose protection in retail is not important at the moment,” said the Senate Chancellery in the capital. “Especially now, when things have been relaxed more and more, the distance and hygiene rules as well as mouth and nose protection are all the more important to prevent the virus from spreading.”
The Rostock infectiologist Emil Reisinger supported this position. “The danger of a second wave has not yet been averted. I hope we can get around there, but we have to be careful, ”Reisinger told the German press agency on Monday. The mask requirement is an expression of these precautionary measures.
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