Saxony-Anhalt: Left and Greens continue for compulsory masks on buses and trains

Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Saxony-Anhalt's Left and Greens have warned that the corona protection measures such as the mask requirement in public transport will expire this week.

Saxony-Anhalt: Left and Greens continue for compulsory masks on buses and trains

Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Saxony-Anhalt's Left and Greens have warned that the corona protection measures such as the mask requirement in public transport will expire this week. The government factions of the CDU and FDP had already announced that they would no longer be required to wear masks on buses and trains, the Greens in the state parliament said on Monday. "That would be fatal, because Corona is not over. With a view to the winter and the increased infection rate, it is incomprehensible to let the basic protection in public transport, in clinics and facilities expire and thus restrict the opportunities for vulnerable groups of people to participate," said the health policy Narrator Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz.

The country's current Corona Containment Ordinance expires this Wednesday (December 7th). The cabinet is expected to advise tomorrow, Tuesday, on how to proceed afterwards. The Ministry of Social Affairs is presenting a draft that provides for the existing measures to be continued until the end of the year, according to a spokeswoman. From a technical point of view, given the pandemic situation and the current burden on hospitals, it makes sense to maintain the mask requirement in public transport for as long.

"The end of the corona protection measures will push our health system further beyond the limits of resilience," explained the health policy spokeswoman for the left-wing parliamentary group, Nicole Anger. "In addition, RS viruses are currently rampant, with which many small children in particular become infected. The wards in the hospitals are already overcrowded, the medical specialists and nursing staff have been working on the attack for more than two years." The abolition of the mask requirement in public transport exposes children and vulnerable groups in particular to an increased risk of infection.