Corona has apparently already disappeared from many minds. Anyone who regularly travels by bus or train or has visited a public building in the past few weeks may have noticed that the Corona rules are no longer being observed or enforced quite as consistently. In other words, fewer and fewer people are wearing a mask. Even if there are actually severe penalties for violations. The state government is also showing signs of laissez-faire in dealing with the virus. Last Friday, Bavaria announced that it would abolish the corona isolation obligation together with three other federal states. As of Wednesday, new rules should therefore apply in many areas. An overview.
General obligation to isolate
Basically, the following applies: The minimum five-day isolation requirement for corona infected people is a thing of the past. However, those who test positive should have to put on a mask outside their own home for the first five days. In addition, there is a ban on entering and working in medical and nursing areas with vulnerable groups of people and in certain communal accommodations, also for five days. According to the Ministry of Health, the protective measures continue to apply until there are at least 48 hours of freedom from symptoms. However, even in the case of symptomatic people, they end after ten days at the latest.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach already criticized these plans last week. “This comes at an inopportune time and does not find the approval of the federal government,” said the SPD politician. He spoke of a mistake and warned of a “patchwork” with different isolation rules in the federal states. “There is also no medical reason to forgo the obligation to isolate now,” said Lauterbach. There are around 1,000 deaths from Covid per week, one is facing a “probably severe winter wave” and is “on the eve of a more contagious variant”. It is therefore not really responsible to take away the obligation to isolate.
Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) cannot share Lauterbach’s concerns: “We are not giving the pandemic free rein. After consulting experts, we have decided on a bundle of protective measures”. This creates a balance between personal responsibility and the protection of vulnerable groups of people. The number of infections, which has been falling for weeks, seems to agree with Holetschek in part, at least for the moment. On Tuesday morning, the Robert Koch Institute reported an incidence of 150.8 for the Free State.
bus and train
In long-distance trains, the obligation to wear a mask is still valid under federal law. In local transport, however, the countries decide. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has now introduced a relaxation of the mask requirement to protect against corona infections in local public transport. “If the infection situation remains the same, we will think about making masks compulsory in local public transport,” said Söder in a newspaper interview. So far, however, the state government has not made any decisions in this direction. The Corona rules of the Seventeenth Bavarian Infection Protection Measures Ordinance (17th BayIfSMV). You still have to wear a medical mask (surgical mask) on buses, trains and taxis.
After that, however, the mask requirement in public transport could fall. Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) sees a certain probability that the coalition will decide in the coming weeks to lift the mask requirement on December 9th. “That would be a suitable day if there weren’t completely new, dramatic developments.” Schleswig-Holstein had already announced a few days ago that it wanted to overturn the obligation to wear masks on buses and trains. Since October 1st, there has no longer been a general obligation to wear masks in air traffic within Germany.
schools
On request, both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health write almost identically: Basically, the same rules apply to schools as to the rest of the Free State. In other words, those who have tested positive no longer need to isolate themselves, but must wear a mask for the first few days. After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Head of State Florian Herrmann said: “Separation is no longer necessary. This applies to all areas of life, so it also applies to school. It is the jump from the pandemic towards normality.” Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger added: “When a child is sick, it makes more sense to stay at home. If it tests positive, it also makes sense to stay at home for a few days.” But if the parents insist that the child should go to school, then it has to wear a mask there for these few days.
In the run-up to the meeting, representatives of the Bavarian teachers’ associations had called for clear and implementable rules “that enable safe teaching in attendance for everyone involved”. However, the measures in schools should not differ too much from the otherwise applicable rules, otherwise there could be problems with acceptance. In addition, those responsible in science and politics must clearly define what “sick” or “contagious” means.
clinics and nursing homes
Visitors whose corona test is positive are not allowed to visit these facilities. Exceptions apply to remedial day-care centers. A ban on working in these areas also applies to employees, operators or volunteers who have tested positive. However, with exceptions: According to the Ministry of Health, the ban does not apply to day care centers for remedial education and to employees, operators and volunteers of hospitals, preventive or rehabilitation facilities, full and partial inpatient facilities for the accommodation and care of disabled people and rescue services, insofar as the above people in each area without vulnerable people are deployed. If the test is positive, there are also bans on entering and working in homeless shelters, community facilities for asylum seekers and prisons.