To protect against an autumn corona wave, the federal states should be allowed to impose mask requirements again from October. This is provided for in a draft of the Infection Protection Act, as jointly announced by the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
A mask requirement on buses, trains and planes should therefore continue to apply nationwide, as well as a new mask and test requirement in hospitals and care facilities. The federal states should decide for themselves whether they also require masks in publicly accessible indoor areas. At cultural and sporting events and in restaurants, however, there should be exceptions for tested, newly vaccinated and recently recovered people.
The federal states should also be given the opportunity to prescribe tests in schools, daycare centers and facilities for accommodating asylum seekers. A mask requirement in school is only planned if otherwise no regulated face-to-face lessons would be possible - and then only from the fifth school year.
If a country fears that its health system or other critical infrastructure will collapse, it should also be possible to wear masks at events outside if minimum distances cannot be maintained. Then there should be no exceptions for those who have been tested, recovered and vaccinated. The measures are to apply from October 1, 2022 to April 7, 2023.
Next, the cabinet will deal with the proposals, and then it will be up to the Bundestag.
