Debate on corona measures: FDP is urging countries to end the mask requirement

Health Minister Lauterbach rejects an immediate end to the corona measures – but he did not rule out an end to the mask requirement before April. The FDP called on the federal states to immediately abolish the mask requirement in local transportin.

It remains to be seen whether the mask requirement will be adhered to until April – Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on ZDF in the evening. The SPD politician thus concedes that the corona measures could be over before the Infection Protection Act expires at the beginning of April.

However, he wonders whether, after three years of the pandemic, a few weeks matter. According to Lauterbach, the situation can be expected to be much more relaxed after the winter. He continues to reject an immediate end to the corona measures and refers to the situation in the clinics with many staff shortages.

FDP calls for countries to end the mask requirement

The FDP continues to put pressure on the traffic light coalition. Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai calls on the federal states to immediately abolish the obligation to wear masks in local transport. There is no longer any basis for encroaching on fundamental rights, the FDP politician told the “Bild” newspaper.

The head of the economy, Monika Schnitzer, is critical of the demand to lift all corona measures. In her view, the restrictions that still exist, such as the obligation to wear masks on buses and trains, would not restrict the economy, but would reduce the number of corona infections and other respiratory diseases and prevent even higher sick leave.