The debate on the draft of the new Infection Protection Act does not stop before the health ministers meet. Bayern called for urgent improvements. The Marburger Bund medical association, on the other hand, supported the draft.
The health ministers of the federal and state governments want to discuss virtually the protection concept for autumn and winter presented by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) last week. Some countries had signaled a need for clarification. There was criticism and requests for changes from parts of the FDP and CDU.
Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) told the German Press Agency in Munich that, among other things, the planned exceptions to mask requirements for newly vaccinated and recovered people had to be discussed. These cannot be technically justified, since those who have just been vaccinated and those who have recovered could also transmit infections.
“The previous draft law has clear gaps,” said the CSU politician. The federal government must, for example, sharpen the criteria with which the federal states could decide and implement more effective measures to protect against corona infections.
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil also sees a need for discussion on the subject of mask exemption for those who have just been vaccinated and those who have recovered. “I don’t think that’s a wise arrangement,” he told Bremen’s “Weser-Kurier”. “We will do what is necessary,” said Weil when asked whether Lower Saxony would make full use of the powers granted. “The principle is: as much as necessary, as little as possible.”
Meanwhile, the seven-day incidence of new corona infections continues to fall. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the value on Tuesday morning as 381.5. The day before, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week was 389.3. However, experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI. The health authorities in Germany recently reported 78,698 new corona infections to the RKI.
Among other things, the draft law provides that the federal states may again impose mask requirements from October. A mask requirement on buses, trains and planes should continue to apply nationwide, as well as a new requirement for masks and tests in hospitals and care facilities.
The federal states should decide for themselves whether they also require masks in publicly accessible indoor areas. There was criticism of the plan to exempt people from wearing masks in restaurants or at cultural and sporting events if their vaccination is not older than three months. There should also be exceptions for those who have been tested and those who have recently recovered.
The chairwoman of the Marburger Bund medical association, Susanne Johna, reacted with incomprehension to the questioning of the concept. “The proposal for the new Infection Protection Act gives the federal states sufficient opportunities to react adequately to the infection process,” said Johna of the “Rheinische Post”.