As of: 02/01/2023 9:08 p.m
Anyone who becomes infected with Corona no longer has to isolate themselves at home in Lower Saxony from Wednesday. Also, a PCR test is no longer mandatory after a positive rapid or self-test.
Lower Saxony had previously extended the isolation requirement several times. Corona infected people recently had to go into domestic isolation for at least five days, and longer if the symptoms persisted. With the decision to let the so-called isolation ordinance expire, Lower Saxony is following some other federal states: In Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein, the isolation obligation for corona infected people has no longer existed since November. In Bremen and Saxony-Anhalt, the obligation to isolate will also no longer apply from Wednesday.
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Behrens: “The right step towards normality”
When Daniela Behrens (SPD) – still in her function as Lower Saxony’s Minister of Health – announced the end of the obligation to isolate, she spoke of a “right step towards normality in dealing with Covid-19”. Lower Saxony survived both the autumn wave in October and the winter wave that is currently ebbing away without the health system being overloaded due to the corona. According to this, Germany and Lower Saxony are now in a phase in which Corona has reached an endemic state and is thus losing much of its horror. Behrens cited the good vaccination rate and high basic immunity in the population as the main reason.
Health Minister Philippi praises the population
Lower Saxony’s new Health Minister Andreas Philippi (SPD) also considers the lifting of the isolation requirement to be justified. The population has followed the Corona rules well and the vaccination rate is high. Now the incidences have fallen so far that the rule can be lifted with a clear conscience. “Even if we are optimistic about spring, I ask everyone in Lower Saxony to take symptoms of illness seriously and to continue to behave responsibly,” said the minister. If you feel ill, he advises you to do a self-test and talk to your doctor’s office.
Marburger Bund warns against careless handling of Corona
The Marburger Bund doctors’ association warns against careless handling of the corona virus. Even after the end of the isolation obligation, sick people should stay at home. “This is the only way we can prevent the virus from continuing to circulate, diseases with long-term consequences, staff shortages and new mutations,” said Hans Martin Wollenberg, first chairman of the Marburg Association of Lower Saxony. In the hospital in particular, it is not an option to go to work infected, says Wollenberg. “That would be misunderstood solidarity towards colleagues and their workload and would endanger both employees and patients.” The doctors’ association would have liked the isolation requirement in Lower Saxony to apply at least until spring.
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Appeal from the Lower Saxony General Practitioners Association
The Lower Saxony General Practitioners Association also urges caution. Anyone who is infected with Corona and still has to leave the house should wear a respiratory mask and try as best as possible not to infect anyone. This applies not only to Corona, but to all infectious diseases.
Masks are no longer compulsory in local transport from Thursday
The mask requirement in local transport in Lower Saxony and Bremen will no longer apply from Thursday and at the same time as the mask requirement in long-distance transport will be lifted. In Hamburg, the regulation expired on Wednesday night. In Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the mask requirement was lifted at the turn of the year.
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