Pandemic
Lauterbach advises early application of new corona rules
Masks are currently only compulsory in a few places. photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
The corona numbers are picking up again – and the Minister of Health would like to see mask requirements in the supermarket in good time. Some countries, on the other hand, would even like to waive the obligation to isolate.
Tightening here, possible easing there: Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach and Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann continue to steer a different course in corona policy. In view of the increasing number of infections, the SPD politician Lauterbach called on the federal states to issue new rules in good time, such as a mask requirement indoors. FDP politician Buschmann, on the other hand, pointed out that they could lift the isolation requirement on their own – and if necessary, ignore expert recommendations. Against this background, a clear corona course by the traffic light government is missing in Bavaria.
“In the Corona policy, the Berlin traffic light flickers as erratically as a light organ in a mixture of brass band music and heavy metal. This unsettles the citizens. That’s why the Chancellor must finally stop the confusing goings-on of his two ministers!” said Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek on Sunday.
Lauterbach had previously distributed a graphic on Twitter that shows the sharp increase in corona numbers in Bavaria and especially Munich since the beginning of the Oktoberfest. He wrote on Saturday evening: “That would not have been necessary if self-tests had been carried out before admission. The prices per measure would not have reached 2-3 euros. However, the development shows what will happen if the countries with waiting too long for the mask requirement in the interior.”
Nationwide, there is currently an FFP2 mask requirement only in long-distance trains and long-distance buses, nursing homes, clinics and medical practices. The federal states decide on regional transport – but their health ministers are sticking to the mask requirement there. With the new regulation that has been in force since Saturday, the federal states can impose even stricter measures on their own, such as compulsory masks in shops and restaurants.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is currently recording a significant increase in the number of infections. On Saturday morning, the RKI gave the nationwide seven-day incidence of 497.0. However, this information only provides a very incomplete picture of the number of infections, since by far not all infected people have a PCR test done.
Debate about the obligation to isolate
Some federal states have nevertheless called for an end to the obligation to isolate people infected with the corona virus. Buschmann emphasized that they could decide at their own discretion. “There is only one recommendation from the RKI,” he told the “Bild am Sonntag”. “If a federal state is convinced that it is justifiable to lift isolation requirements, it can do so. Therefore, I can only call out to these state governments: Go ahead, you have all the options!”
The RKI recommends that the countries order five days of isolation for infected people – and only end self-isolation after a negative test. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein, on the other hand, want infected people to stay at home on their own responsibility.
Lauterbach immediately rejected this. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) also warned against lifting the isolation requirements. It is true that one is dealing with omicron variants that do not make people so ill, he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Nevertheless, we have to be careful that not too many people get sick – also in the interest of the company.”
Holetschek called for clear guidelines for the federal states. “The measure is full – and the chancellor must intervene,” he demanded.
Lauterbach tweet