After the end of long-distance traffic: Masks are also compulsory in local traffic

The mask requirement does not only end in long-distance transport at the beginning of February – there will also be no more restrictions in local transport from then on. The last federal states overturned the regulation for buses and trains today.

After the announced end of the mask requirement in long-distance transport, the federal states are following suit for local transport. From the beginning of February, the mask will no longer be mandatory on buses and trains nationwide.

In Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, the regulation is to expire on February 1st, according to the state governments. In Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, this will be the case on February 2nd. The other nine countries had already ended the mask requirement in local transport or announced their abolition by the beginning of February in the past few days. The end of the obligation will come into force on February 3rd in Thuringia.

Some politicians, including Deutsche Bahn, emphasized that it was important to have the most uniform regulation possible and to prevent a patchwork quilt. This is very important, said Rolf Mützenich, head of the SPD parliamentary group, after a closed conference in Berlin. “If we can also guarantee this on the part of the federal government, compared to the competence of the federal states, we have achieved a lot.”

Bushman for lifting all measures

Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann considers the end of the mask requirement to be “correct and overdue”. He goes one step further: Buschmann spoke to the dpa news agency in favor of a quick lifting of all other corona protection measures. “In my opinion, the other protective measures can also be lifted before April 7,” he said.

Interventions in fundamental rights must always be well justified. In view of the positive development of the pandemic in recent weeks, the protective measures are becoming more difficult to justify every day. “The pandemic with its restrictions is the exception, freedom is the rule,” Buschmann continued.

Medics: Continue to wear a mask if you have symptoms

Doctors are also generally satisfied with the lifting of protective measures. “It would simply no longer be possible to have differences,” said the CEO of the German Hospital Society (DKG), Gerald Gass, of the “Rheinische Post”. Everyone can decide for themselves whether they want to wear a mask. Gass appealed to people to wear a mask if they had symptoms of illness or to stay at home.

General practitioners can also understand the decision of the federal government. “Now that the mask requirement has already been lifted in large parts of public life, it is understandable that politicians are also taking personal responsibility in long-distance transport,” said Nicola Buhlinger-Göpfarth, deputy head of the German Association of General Practitioners, the editorial network Germany (RND).

From their point of view, masks should not be dispensed with entirely. “We recommend that our vulnerable patients continue to voluntarily wear a mask indoors, where many people are crowded together,” she said.

Lauterbach: Corona situation has stabilized

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had announced that the mask requirement in long-distance transport would be suspended early on February 2nd. The SPD politician justified the step by saying that the situation in the coronavirus pandemic had stabilized. Another winter wave of infections is not to be expected, he said. Nevertheless, he appealed to travelers to voluntarily continue to wear masks in long-distance and local transport.

Demands for an end to the mask requirement had previously increased. According to the current Infection Protection Act, all travelers on long-distance buses and long-distance trains were required to wear FFP2 masks until April 7th.

After February 2nd, the mask requirement will only apply in clinics, nursing homes, medical practices and other healthcare facilities.