Representative survey
End of the Corona measures? The majority of people in Germany are against it
How do the Germans feel about the Corona measures? A new poll reveals it
© Tobias Hase / DPA
Politicians argue about whether the last corona measures should be dropped. And how is the mood among the population? A poll gives a pretty clear answer.
The majority of the population in Germany is against the immediate abolition of all measures still in place in the fight against the corona virus. In a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 52 percent are against a nationwide end to the mask requirement on public transport at the present time. 60 percent reject an immediate stop to the minimum five-day isolation requirement for infected people. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of those surveyed say the pandemic is not over for them.
Team caution is in the majority
YouGov surveyed 2,041 people living in Germany between December 21 and 23 – shortly before virologist Christian Drosten declared the pandemic over. The prominent scientist thus fueled the argument again in the traffic light coalition as to whether the mask and isolation requirements introduced because of Corona should be dropped. The FDP Justice Minister Marco Buschmann is for it, SPD Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is against it. An agreement is not in sight. The YouGov survey now shows that the caution team is still in the majority in the population:
- Only 31 percent say the pandemic is already history for them. On the other hand, 23 percent believe that it will only end in the course of 2023. 41 percent even expect that it will not stop in 2023 either.
- Only 41 percent are in favor of an immediate end to the mask requirement in long-distance and local public transport. On the other hand, 27 percent believe that the obligation should only fall in the course of 2023. 25 percent even wish that masks would have to be worn on buses and trains for the whole of next year. For long-distance trains and long-distance buses, FFP2 masks are required by law until April 7th. The federal states have a free hand when it comes to local transport. Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt have already overturned the mask requirement, and in Schleswig-Holstein it will expire at the end of the year.
- Only 32 percent support the immediate abolition of the obligation to isolate infected people. 29 percent only want this for the coming year. 31 percent of those surveyed are in favor of the quarantine rules applying at least until the end of next year. The federal states are also involved here. Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and Rhineland-Palatinate have already said goodbye to the isolation requirement.
Only AfD voters majority for the end of all corona measures
Only among AfD voters are the advocates of abolishing all corona measures in the majority. Of the supporters of the FDP, 56 percent are in favor of an immediate end to the mask requirement, but only 36 percent want to overturn the isolation requirement. The majority of voters from all other parties represented in the Bundestag reject both measures – including those of the CDU/CSU.
Nevertheless, leading politicians in the Union have now joined the FDP’s call for an end to the measures. “All remaining restrictions on fundamental rights must be lifted, and the obligation to wear masks on buses and trains can no longer be justified,” said CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja to the editorial network Germany. The Union expects “particularly from the FDP” that this will be enforced in the coalition.
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CSU General Secretary Martin Huber accused the traffic light government of continuing the “sad spectacle” of arguing on the open stage. In the newspapers of the Bayern media group, he demands: “The mask requirement in long-distance transport must now be dropped. It is inexplicable why the mask requirement on airplanes no longer applies, but on the ICE it does.”
Almost half of the population is not yet infected
The YouGov survey also provides information on how many people in Germany were caught by the corona virus in the three-year pandemic. Almost half of those surveyed (46 percent) stated that they had been infected once (39 percent) or several times (7 percent). 46 percent say they were spared from Covid-19. 8 percent do not provide any information.
The number of people already infected in the 25 to 34 age group is particularly high at 60 percent. On the other hand, 62 percent of those over 55 say they have never had a corona virus.