Saxony-Anhalt will abolish the mask requirement in local public transport on December 8th. The cabinet agreed on this on Tuesday, according to government circles. The country is thus relying on more personal responsibility.
The previous Corona Containment Ordinance is due to expire on December 7th. Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) and other cabinet members want to explain the details of the decision on Tuesday afternoon in Magdeburg.
Bavaria decided on Tuesday to abolish the obligation to wear masks on buses and trains by December 10th. There should only be one recommendation in the Free State to wear the masks. The obligation to wear masks in local public transport has always been a point of contention in the public debate, including in state politics. Most recently, the Free Voters had campaigned vehemently for the rapid abolition and insisted on the voluntariness for the citizens.
The state governments of Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia have meanwhile announced that they want to stick to the mask requirement in local public transport. The evening before, the health ministers of the federal states had not found a uniform line for dealing with the obligation to wear masks in public transport. For long-distance trains, the mask requirement is stipulated by law nationwide until April 7, 2023.
Recently, calls for the abolition of the mask requirement in local public transport had become louder and louder. The FDP and the CDU in particular had campaigned for this.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Greens and Left, on the other hand, warned that the corona protection measures would expire quickly with a view to vulnerable groups and the current high burden on hospitals. According to a spokeswoman, the SPD-led Ministry of Health would have liked the continuation at least until the end of the year from a technical point of view.
In April 2020, Saxony-Anhalt, like other federal states, obliged people to wear mouth and nose protection if they wanted to go shopping or use local public transport. Previously, there was an urgent recommendation if the safety distance of one and a half meters to unfamiliar groups could not be maintained.
At that time, a “simple textile barrier” such as a scarf was enough. Medical masks should be reserved for medical personnel. The first Covid-19 cases became known in Saxony-Anhalt on March 10, 2020. It had previously been the last federal state without a confirmed infection. (dpa)
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Source: Tagesspiegel
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