Mask requirement, end 3G access
Thuringia’s state parliament votes against the hotspot rule
3/31/2022, 5:27 p.m
The minority coalition in Thuringia wants to push through the extension of the Corona measures for the entire state. But Prime Minister Ramelow fails in the state parliament. This means that, despite high incidences, the mask requirement and other access restrictions are falling.
Many corona rules in Thuringia, such as the obligation to wear masks in numerous public areas or access controls in restaurants, end on April 2nd. The red-red-green minority coalition failed in the state parliament with a motion to declare the country a so-called hotspot. Only then could the mask requirement in retail, in schools or at hairdressers and the 3G rule in restaurants or in theaters with access only for vaccinated, recovered or tested people be maintained until May 8th.
The project by the Left, SPD and Greens, for which Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow had also campaigned, did not find a majority in a voting marathon in parliament. Red-Red-Green hopes for the support of individual members of the opposition CDU parliamentary group were shattered. The CDU, FDP and AfD voted against the extension of the mask requirement, among other things. The coalition does not have its own majority in the state parliament and needs at least four votes from the opposition for decisions.
Health Minister Heike Werner Linke regretted Parliament’s decision. “For many people, this means there is less protection. I see a greater risk,” she said. Ramelow had criticized the new infection protection law, saying that the federal states had been “rid of basic protection rules”. So far, only Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have declared themselves to be hotspots.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the number of new corona infections per week and 100,000 inhabitants in Bavaria was 1937.3 this Thursday; the previous day the value was 1964.3. Despite a slight downward trend, the situation was still well above the nationwide rate of infection with a seven-day incidence of 1625.1.