Status: 03/29/2022 3:03 p.m
In Lower Saxony, too, almost all corona rules will no longer apply from Sunday in accordance with the new Federal Infection Protection Act. Only in a few areas is there still a mask and test obligation.
Lower Saxony will use the leeway that the Infection Protection Act gives the federal states. However, this is very low, said Health Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) on Tuesday at the press conference of the Corona crisis team. For example, the 2G or 3G rule, which only grants access to certain areas to those who have been vaccinated and who have recovered or who have been tested, can no longer be applied. A mask and test obligation are still possible in the future – but only in selected areas.
A mask and test obligation applies here
- hospitals
- care facilities
- homes
- correctional facilities
A mask requirement applies here
- medical practices
- Transportation
A test is mandatory here
- schools and day-care centers
- shared accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers
“Can only react when the hut is already on fire”
Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, the precaution against an overload of the health system and many deaths has been the leitmotif for Lower Saxony, said Behrens. “Now it is no longer possible to act as a precaution via the Federal Infection Protection Act, but we can only react when the hut is already on fire,” said the Minister of Health with reference to the new hotspot regulation in the Infection Protection Act. Because this regulation can only be applied if there is a specific danger or a specific overload of the health system. In Lower Saxony, neither one nor the other can currently be identified, said Behrens.
Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania implement the hotspot rule
According to Behrens, 14 of the 16 federal states are not implementing any hotspot regulations because they see no legal options for this. Only Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg made use of it because of a heavy overload of the intensive care units or an overload of the health system. According to Behrens, lawsuits against the regulation have already been announced in both federal states. Lower Saxony will observe how the hotspot regulations in the two countries stand up in court in order to assess which instruments are possible and which are not.
Behrens: Infection numbers will remain high for a long time
In view of the far-reaching easing, Behrens assumes that the infection rate will continue to increase until Easter. According to the experts, it will probably decrease after that, but will remain relatively high in the summer, according to the minister. “It is not yet possible to say what that means for the burden of disease and how things will continue in autumn,” says Behrens. However, it is now clear that Omikron leads to severe illnesses that have to be treated in the intensive care unit much less frequently than previous variants of the corona virus.
Quarantine and isolation rules should be changed
For this reason, the rules for isolation and quarantine were also an issue at the Federal and State Health Ministers’ Conference (GMK) on Monday. The ministers unanimously asked the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) to reassess the pandemic. There are numerous courses of the disease with only minor or no symptoms, said Behrens. Therefore, the isolation measures are obviously too strict to deal with Omicron. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) explained in the round that the RKI is already working on a new isolation regulation.
Further information
Further information
Corona in Lower Saxony – current reports