The state government is taking a step towards more personal responsibility and is abolishing domestic isolation for people infected with corona. The new regulation, which will apply from Wednesday, has also met with criticism.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - Anyone who becomes infected with Corona will no longer have to be isolated at home in Baden-Württemberg in the future. A corresponding regulation of the state government will come into force on Wednesday.
Instead, infected people are required to wear a mask for five days outside their own home, as the Ministry of Health in Stuttgart announced. Health Minister Manne Lucha described the departure from the obligation to isolate "currently justifiable from an infectious point of view." This is shown not least by the experiences in neighboring European countries, which have already taken this step. "Basically, if you are sick and have symptoms, you should stay at home and take sick leave," said the Greens politician.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach expressed clear criticism of the procedure. "This comes at an inopportune time and does not find the approval of the federal government," said the SPD politician after the announcement last Friday. He spoke of a mistake and warned of a "patchwork" with different isolation rules in the federal states.
The new regulation should allow infected people, as far as their state of health allows, to go shopping with a mask or to go for a walk in the fresh air. With a minimum distance of 1.5 meters, the mask can also be dispensed with outdoors. Children who do not yet go to school are exempt from the mask requirement.
As a further restriction, the new regulation stipulates that infected people are not allowed to enter or work in clinics and nursing homes. The same applies to refugee shelters and prisons.
The state government is taking this path together with Bavaria, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein. The four federal states had already announced last Friday that they wanted to abolish the obligation to isolate. In Bavaria, it will also be canceled this Wednesday. Other federal states recently thought about it, others rejected such a step.
Despite the departure from the obligation to isolate, Minister Lucha emphasized: “But it is also clear that we cannot simply ignore the corona virus.” Personal protective measures such as wearing masks are still important, not least because of the currently increasing number of other respiratory diseases, such as influenza. At the same time, Lucha pointed out that everyone can protect themselves from serious illnesses with a vaccination.
