A push from Schleswig-Holstein to end the mask requirement 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.
Günther appeals to personal responsibility
The Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) is aiming not to extend the mask requirement on buses and trains beyond the end of the year. In discussions with the other countries, he wanted to achieve the most uniform possible regulation, he said on Friday. 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.”
