Status: 05/16/2022 4:54 p.m
Germany could face a new corona wave from autumn – the health ministers of the federal states assume this. They are calling on the federal government to prepare for this now and to change the Infection Protection Act again.
The health ministers of the federal states have called for a master plan for dealing with a possible new corona wave in autumn. One should not be fooled by the currently declining incidences, said the chair of the Health Ministers’ Conference, Saxony-Anhalt’s department head Petra Grimm-Benne, after a video conference with Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. Instead, Germany must prepare for a new corona wave from autumn. “Looking ahead to autumn and winter, we have to expect new virus variants to appear,” said Grimm-Benne.
Countries want to change the Infection Protection Act again
In a resolution passed unanimously, the state ministers call on the federal government to initiate the legislative process quickly. The federal states should be involved, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs in Magdeburg.
In order to be prepared for a possible new wave from autumn, the federal states also want the Infection Protection Act to be revised again, which should give them more powers again. The currently valid version of the law, which was passed by the Bundestag in March, has been heavily criticized by the federal states.
Return of compulsory masks, 3G and 2G?
According to the information, starting in autumn, a mask requirement indoors could be used to react to the infection process. In addition, it should be about the obligation to submit proof of vaccination, convalescence or test with corresponding access restrictions for risky areas and facilities as well as binding infection protection concepts. Federal Minister of Health Lauterbach had warned at the weekend that the delta variant of the corona virus would return.
Lauterbach welcomes the decision
Lauterbach expressly welcomed the decision of his country colleagues: “The countries must be able to react to a possible flare-up of the pandemic,” he told the dpa news agency. To do this, they would need more instruments than the current law provides. “We have to be prepared for the cold season. A clear legal framework is part of it,” said Lauterbach. He had already announced a pandemic concept for the fall.