Thuringia: Thuringian corona rules extended until mid-August

The number of new corona infections and intensive care patients continues to rise in Thuringia.

Thuringia: Thuringian corona rules extended until mid-August

The number of new corona infections and intensive care patients continues to rise in Thuringia. The mask requirement and some other rules to protect against infections therefore continue to apply.

Erfurt (dpa/th) - Masks must also be worn in Thuringia in the coming weeks on local public transport, in doctor's offices, hospitals and nursing facilities. This is provided for in the new Corona regulation, which applies until August 17, as announced by the Ministry of Health in Erfurt on Wednesday. This will extend the measures previously in place to contain the corona pandemic by a further four weeks.

Visiting hospitals and care facilities will then only be permitted for people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative. Health Minister Heike Werner (left) referred to the current strong wave of infections for the summer months. "After the rate of Covid patients in the intensive care units was relatively stable between two and three percent in June, it has now risen again to over five percent. I therefore urge caution, nobody should carelessly risk infection with this insidious virus," explained Werner.

Two detailed regulations were adjusted with the new regulations. Children between the ages of five and eleven in medical and care facilities no longer need to be tested, even if they have only received one vaccination. Thuringia is thus implementing a recommendation from the Standing Vaccination Commission (StiKo), the ministry said. In addition, restrictions in care facilities and integration assistance facilities that go beyond the current state regulations will only be possible if they have been initiated or agreed with the health department beforehand.

Thuringia's health minister again appealed to the federal government to clarify what precautions would be taken for the fall. Werner said: "The Federal Minister of Justice and the Federal Minister of Health have been documenting their different views in interviews for weeks. I am now finally expecting a coordinated proposal on the regulatory options the federal government wants to go into the autumn with." Germany must be prepared for different corona scenarios.

According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, the seven-day incidence in Thuringia was 412 on Wednesday - with an upward trend for weeks. In a comparison of the federal states, however, the Free State still has one of the lowest values.