Parts of the FDP and the CDU have criticized and requested changes to the federal government’s corona protection concept for autumn and winter. Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki said that the proposal by Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) still needed some revisions. The CDU health expert Erwin Rüddel accused Lauterbach of scaremongering. This Tuesday, the federal and state health ministers want to discuss the situation in the Health Ministers’ Conference (GMK).
These corona rules should apply from October
Kubicki told the “Welt”: “It is not clear to me why, for example, a mask requirement can be imposed outdoors.” MP Frank Schäffler also “urgently” requested improvements to the draft of the Infection Protection Act. He considers the possibility of a nationwide hotspot regulation to be a step backwards. A possible mask requirement in schools is also a nuisance. He makes his approval dependent on changes.
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The FDP MP Christoph Hoffmann said: “I am sure that the Infection Protection Act will not find a majority in its current form.” On the other hand, FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr told the “Welt” that the measures were a good compromise. The FDP has achieved that there will be no more far-reaching fundamental rights interventions such as lockdowns, curfews, school closures or contact restrictions. Parliament Secretary Stephan Thomae said the measures were both effective and reasonable.
The draft presented by Buschmann and Lauterbach after long negotiations provides, among other things, 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.
Rüddel said on Deutschlandfunk: “The path we have taken is a mistake.” A basic immunization was achieved in the summer. In his own words, Rüddel expects a “relatively relaxed Corona autumn and winter”. Lauterbach unsettles the population. “I’m surprised that the FDP is also participating in this panic mode.” Rüddel also expressed his conviction that there would still be “significant changes” to the draft.
This Tuesday, the federal and state health ministers will discuss the situation in a special GMK. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) also wants the federal government to discuss the future Infection Protection Act together with the Prime Minister. The regular exchange at the level of the health ministers is correct, she told the editorial network Germany (RND). “But I think it is necessary for the heads of government to discuss this.” The law must also be passed by the Bundesrat. In their view, it should be implemented as uniformly as possible.
