Hygiene at work: Heil ends special corona rules earlier

The Corona Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance is due to expire at the beginning of February. Two months earlier than planned, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil ended the special rules, for example on hygiene precautions in the companies.

Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to end the special rules in the workplace to protect against corona infection two months earlier than planned. “I will repeal the Corona Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance on February 2, 2023 by ministerial ordinance,” said the Federal Labor Minister of the news agency Reuters.

The special hygiene precautions would have provided important services, especially in the peak phases of the pandemic. “Thanks to the extensive protective measures, infections in the company could be prevented and work and production losses avoided,” said Heil. Due to the increasing immunity in the population, the number of new cases is now falling sharply.

Hygiene concept and support with vaccination

Corona occupational safety regulations expired last May. The companies no longer have to offer tests. There is also no longer an obligation to offer work from home. However, a new version of the regulation came into force in October, which was originally intended to apply until April 7, 2023. The new version was based on the Omicron variant BA5. There were concerns that there could be an increased incidence of infection in the winter months.

At present, companies are still obliged to define infection protection measures in a hygiene concept through a risk assessment. In addition, employers must contribute to increasing the vaccination rate. These rules are now no longer applicable.