corona pandemic
Mask requirement in Bavaria’s local transport ended
Since Saturday, the obligation to wear face masks in local public transport in the Free State has ended. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
In addition to the corona virus, numerous other cold viruses such as influenza are currently circulating. In Bavarian buses and trains, there is therefore no obligation to wear a mask for the time being.
More than two and a half years after it was introduced, the obligation to wear a mask on buses and trains in local transport has come to an end in Bavaria. The state government had decided the end of the mask requirement from this Saturday last Tuesday. The mask requirement is no longer proportionate because other viral diseases such as influenza now have to be treated more frequently in hospitals than corona diseases, the reasoning was said. In Saxony-Anhalt, the mask requirement in public transport had already fallen on Thursday.
“The Federal Infection Protection Act only offers an explicit basis for a general mask requirement because of Corona. To combat long-known, regularly seasonal pathogens such as influenza and RS virus, the law does not provide for general mask requirements,” said Bavaria’s Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek ( CSU). The new regulation applies until January 20, 2023. Holetschek nevertheless continues to advocate the voluntary wearing of a mask.
The mask requirement in long-distance traffic, which was enacted on the basis of federal law, remains unaffected in Bavaria and therefore continues to exist. In addition, FFP2 mask requirements in vulnerable facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals, as well as for patients and visitors to doctor’s offices and other outpatient medical facilities, continue to apply until April 7th. Employees in certain medical facilities as well as residents and visitors to certain community facilities must continue to wear masks in Bavaria. People who have tested positive for Corona are also still obliged to wear a mask – including on buses and trains.