Status: 12/12/2022 6:00 p.m
In the afternoon, the state government provided information on how the corona rules in Schleswig-Holstein will continue – among other things, the obligation to wear a mask in public transport was an issue.
The mask requirement in local public transport (ÖPNV) expires in Schleswig-Holstein. As expected, the state government today agreed not to extend this regulation beyond December 31st. From the New Year, medical masks will no longer have to be worn on buses and trains in Schleswig-Holstein. The country wants to continue on the path towards normality bit by bit, said Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU).
Günther advises risk groups to wear a mask
“I think that’s the right way to do it,” said Günther. The panel of experts in the state parliament would also have advised in the morning to let the mask requirement in public transport expire – despite the tense situation in the hospitals, according to Günther. The government is relying on more personal responsibility, mutual consideration and common sense as the most important remedy against Corona. Günther recommended that risk groups indoors should continue to protect themselves with a mask and that people showing corona symptoms should continue to wear a mask.
It was not possible to go a common path in Germany, he said with a view to other federal states, which will retain the mask requirement in public transport. “I think that in Schleswig-Holstein we’ve gotten through the times well over the past few years by tightening things up when the situation got worse, but also allowing as much freedom as possible,” said Günther.
This also means that from January 1, 2023, other regulations will apply in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Train and bus passengers must therefore put on or take off a mask at the national borders. Prime Minister Günther regretted that there was no uniform solution, but it would also work without any problems on the German-Danish border, he said.
The development of the corona numbers in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein’s Deputy Prime Minister Monika Heinold (Greens) emphasized: “The order of the day is: protect yourself and be considerate of others.” Everyone has to decide, depending on the situation, whether they need a mask or not.
Health Minister Kerstin von der Decken (CDU) said with a view to the current wave of respiratory diseases that only a small percentage of diseases are caused by the corona virus. “The mutated virus also hits a population that has now been largely immunized by vaccination and infections.” Most corona diseases are currently mild. “The possibility of imposing restrictions on freedom and obligations because of Corona only applies as long as Corona endangers the health system and that is no longer the case today.”
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