It’s going to be difficult in the union
Schleswig-Holstein wants to abolish the obligation to wear masks on buses and trains
11/14/2022 1:24 am
The isolation obligation for people infected with corona will be obsolete in Schleswig-Holstein in a few days, after which Prime Minister Günther would also like to overturn the obligation to wear masks on public transport. The FDP in the federal government is open to the advance, but there is resistance.
A push from Schleswig-Holstein to end the obligation to wear masks on buses and trains has met with a mixed response in federal politics. The health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Andrew Ullmann, told the “Welt”: “We advocate a mask recommendation instead of a mask requirement, because citizens can protect themselves and make their own decisions.”
The health policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Janosch Dahmen, rejected a relaxation of the mask requirement in local transport as well as the lifting of the isolation requirement for corona infected people announced by four federal states. “There are no new, medically evident reasons why there should now be a deviation from the previous statutory separation and isolation obligations or the mask requirement in local transport,” said Dahmen of the “Welt”. On the contrary, the “consistent interruption of corona infection chains and the reduction of infection risks” is extremely important against the background of a sharp increase in seasonal respiratory diseases in the coming months.
Lower Saxony remains cautious
The Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther is aiming not to extend the mask requirement on buses and trains beyond the end of the year. The CDU politician said on Friday that he wanted to achieve as uniform a regulation as possible in discussions with the other countries. Günther appealed to personal responsibility: “You stay at home with symptoms”. He hopes that other countries will follow this course, which is responsible.
According to the Infection Protection Act, the federal states can decide whether masks are compulsory in local transport. A nationwide mask requirement applies to long-distance trains. On Friday, Schleswig-Holstein, together with Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse, had already announced that they would abolish the obligation to isolate people infected with corona. Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil, on the other hand, is on a cautious course. “Even if we all wish for something else, the pandemic is not over. This is proven not least by the relatively high number of deaths, which we are still recording,” said the SPD politician to the “Welt”. “In the cold season, experience has shown that the problems are even greater. Against this background, we will remain cautious in Lower Saxony.” According to “Welt”, Hamburg and Bremen were also skeptical about the advance from Schleswig-Holstein.