Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has rejected calls for an end to the obligation to isolate people infected with corona. “Infected people have to stay at home,” Lauterbach wrote on Twitter. “Otherwise, not only will the number of cases increase even more, but the workplace itself will become a safety risk.”
KBV boss Gassen: “Have to go back to normal”
Kassenärztechef Andreas Gassen sees it differently. The fact that those who tested positive without symptoms were sent into isolation resulted in “staff shortages in the clinics and elsewhere,” said the head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. The number of infections has been very high for months. But the courses are almost always mild. “We have to get back to normal. Those who are sick stay at home. Those who feel healthy go to work,” said Gassen.
Holetschek for maintaining the isolation
Like Lauterbach, the Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) spoke out against the abolition of the isolation and quarantine rules. The suggestion came at an inopportune time: “In autumn we expect a further increase in the number of infections. Nobody knows which virus variant will prevail then. That’s why you should think carefully at this point in time whether it really makes sense to relax the rules on isolation.” Holetschek also called for listening to the “expertise of the RKI” more.
Patient advocates: Don’t play with people’s health
The head of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, accused Gassen of “opportunism”. “The isolation protects. It prevents others from getting infected.” He referred to long and post-Covid. Gassen plays with people’s health.
Encouragement from the FDP
On the other hand, the FDP health expert Andrew Ullmann said that Gassen was right in his call for the isolation requirements to be lifted. “This is a solution-oriented approach to enable a smarter and individual approach to corona infections,” he said. “The isolation period for patients with Covid-19 should no longer be fixed by the state. This way we can return to a certain normality and calmness.” According to Ullmann, the length of isolation should be a medical and individual decision in the future.
Current legal situation: Five days of isolation and quarantine
People who become infected with the corona virus have to be isolated at home for five days. Before returning to work, employees in healthcare facilities must also prove that they are negative by means of a rapid or PCR test. They must also be symptom-free for 48 hours. A five-day quarantine is strongly recommended for people who have had contact with corona infected people.
–
