Anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus in Germany after 1 May no longer needs to isolate themselves. This was announced by German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on Monday. Only workers in the health sector should be exempted from the new regulation. The quarantine is “barely monitored” by health authorities, Lauterbach justified the measure. “The work is almost entirely bureaucratic documentation and hardly affects the number of cases. Therefore, personal responsibility is enough here,” he wrote on Twitter.
The SPD politician is making people sit up and take note — because of his drastic warnings about the pandemic, the CDU called him “minister of fear” in February. Now he relies on “voluntary” quarantine and isolation. However, the “urgent recommendation” still applies to go into isolation in the event of an infection and get tested after five days, Lauterbach explained in Berlin after consulting his colleagues from the federal states. Contacts should be avoided.
However, for infected workers in health or care facilities, isolation should be ordered by the office and ended only five days after a negative rapid or PCR test, the conference of health ministers said.
The relaxation of the quarantine rules goes back to a suggestion by the Ministry of Health and researchers at the Robert Koch Institute. This is also intended to prevent massive staff shortages when the number of infections is high. Currently, the secretions in Germany usually last ten days and can be terminated after seven days with a negative test.
“What helps are masks and vaccinations”
Minister Lauterbach made it clear on Monday that isolation is not the way to reduce the number of cases. “What helps are masks and vaccinations,” he emphasized on Twitter. He still favors mandatory vaccination, but for a watered-down version that the CDU/CSU Union has brought into play: This graduated vaccination requirement provides that, depending on the threat situation, the stabbing obligation is activated in multiple age groups, starting with the under-60s. Workers in schools, kindergartens and critical infrastructure would also be affected.
The concept also includes the introduction of a vaccination register. “This proposal is a very good compromise. He takes the most important of all vaccination applications,” Lauterbach argued on Monday. “We are in the process of setting up a vaccination register as the CDU wanted. Anyone who wants mandatory vaccination can go here,” emphasized Health Minister Lauterbach. vote against, you risk lockdowns and suffering again in the autumn.” Experts expect that the number of new corona infections in the autumn will increase sharply again after a decrease in the summer.
Just under 77 percent vaccinated
The leading politicians of the SPD and the Greens think mandatory vaccination is necessary because the vaccination rate in Germany is relatively low. As of Monday, only 76.6 percent of the population had been vaccinated at least once. On Thursday, different models of mandatory vaccination will be voted on, the question is whether a majority will be obtained.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
