The face mask obligation in long-distance public transport in Germany falls on February 2. This was announced by German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on Friday. “We just need to rely more on personal responsibility and voluntariness,” Lauterbach said.
Demands for an early end to mask duty have become louder recently, with the FDP in particular pushing for this within the German government.
Charges for railway employees
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) said on Wednesday that the end should come “as soon as possible” and also referred to the burden on railway employees due to the containment of the corona measures. Deutsche Bahn also spoke out this week for an early end to the mask requirement in long-distance transport. As with air travel, long-distance rail travel should also be voluntary, it said.
Lauterbach had recently not ruled out a premature end to the mask obligation in long-distance transport and in health care facilities. “It could very well be that we abolish the mask obligation earlier,” the SPD politician said without setting a date to the “Stern”.
In public transport, the face mask obligation is already a thing of the past in many federal states
In local public transport, the mask requirement has already been abolished in the states of Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein. Berlin, Brandenburg, Thuringia, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony and Baden-Württemberg plan to lift it by early February at the latest.
After 2 February, the mask obligation will only apply in clinics, nursing homes, medical practices and other healthcare institutions. According to the Infection Protection Act, the mask obligation in long-distance traffic should last until April 7. The German government may by law suspend the measure in whole or in part.
Source: Krone
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