Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) has triggered a debate about how to deal with the corona pandemic. Specifically, the question is whether the determination of an “epidemic situation of national scope” is still appropriate. On Monday, Spahn initially said in consultations with the health ministers of the federal states that, in his view, this status should no longer be extended. Spahn’s main argument is the vaccination progress: The risk for vaccinated people is low, the risk of overloading the health system is only moderate.
An official end to the epidemic situation would have far-reaching consequences, because this status has enabled the federal government to order extensive measures to contain the pandemic since March 2020 – without having to obtain the approval of the Bundestag every time. This included, for example, the specific design of the mask requirement or entry restrictions. If the epidemic situation officially ended, then every single measure would have to be voted on again in the Bundestag. However, this would not automatically mean an end to the restrictions.
Most recently, the epidemic situation was extended for a further three months at the end of August, i.e. until the end of November. However, it is not the Federal Minister of Health that decides whether the regulation will expire, but the newly elected Bundestag. In any case, Spahn’s statement did not go unchallenged: The Bavarian state government, for example, was skeptical. “We are cautious about this apodictic from Mr. Spahn, because we are still following the course of caution and prudence,” said State Chancellor Florian Herrmann (CSU) on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting in Munich.
The SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach also criticized Spahn’s initiative as a “wrong signal”. Winter is underestimated as a Covid problem. Lauterbach assumes, however, that central protective measures can be continued even after the epidemic situation has expired. “No federal state would be so crazy, given the current number of cases, to forego access restrictions for closed rooms or to bury the mask requirement in buses and trains,” Lauterbach told the editorial network Germany. The seven-day incidence rose in Germany on Tuesday for the sixth time in a row to 75.1.
In Hamburg, the restrictions on unvaccinated people are meanwhile being expanded: From now on, service providers close to the body, such as hairdressers or cosmetic studios, as well as parts of the retail sector can also operate their businesses with the 2-G rule. Vaccinated and convalescent people can then use these shops without a mask; unvaccinated people are not allowed to enter. The application of the rule is voluntary, the companies can continue to serve unvaccinated customers – but with a mask requirement. Shops for daily needs such as supermarkets and pharmacies are excluded from the option; these must also grant access to unvaccinated persons.