What comes after March 19?
Dispute over Corona “basic protection” breaks out
02/17/2022, 09:37 am
At the beginning of spring, most of the corona restrictions will be lifted – apart from “basic protection”, according to the decision of the federal and state governments. According to the FDP, this should not include more than a mask requirement. The coalition partners see it differently.
In the corona pandemic, the focus is on which protective measures should still be possible after March 19th. The federal and state governments decided on a timetable for gradual easing over the next four weeks. Even after that, “basic protection” with mask requirements indoors, on buses and trains and with tests should remain possible. A nationwide legal basis is being sought for this. What is disputed is what this should contain.
The FDP, which co-governs in the federal government, only wants to support an extension of the mask requirement. FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr said immediately after the Prime Minister’s conference: “It is conceivable for us to make regulations that allow the mask requirement to be extended.” But after the vast majority of people had adhered to a large number of corona requirements for more than two years, he saw it as a duty and task of politicians to withdraw restrictions if they no longer served to fight the virus.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had assured the federal states that he would work to ensure that regulations on masks, distance and other protective measures could be taken up even after the Infection Protection Act expired on March 19. In separate declarations on the federal-state decision, Saxony and Baden-Württemberg called for the legal extension of further rules.
The Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen also urges further necessary protective measures. “The current situation allows relaxation, but not carelessness. A trend reversal is possible at any time,” said the member of the Bundestag. “The virus doesn’t care about our calendar.” The federal states would need a flexible catalog of measures for a possible deterioration in the situation in the spring. The legal basis for this would have to be created in the Bundestag by March 20th.
GEW urges caution in day care centers and schools
The President of the German Association of Cities, Markus Lewe from the CDU, told the Funke media group that it was not responsible for completely handing over the instruments for necessary protective measures. “It must now be clarified quickly that the entire tool kit will also be available after March 19.” The legal basis for protective measures such as wearing masks, testing and hygiene rules would have to be extended quickly. “The vaccination gap is still too big for us to be able to wait for the next wave without any worries,” he said.
The board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, called for vulnerable population groups to be protected from the corona virus beyond March 19. He told the editorial network Germany: “For government measures, effective legal authorization is therefore still needed instead of liberal activism and the proclamation of a Freedom Day.” The federal and state governments are still obliged to ensure health protection for people who are not able to do it themselves. “This affects two million outpatients and inpatients in need of care,” said Brysch. “But the half a million hospital patients must not be forgotten either.”
The Education and Science Union (GEW) also warned against opening steps in schools and daycare centers too quickly. GEW boss Maike Finnern told the RND: “It is right that these institutions are also involved in social development – but this must be done with a sense of proportion in order to ensure the best possible health protection for teachers, students, children and their parents”. .