For two and a half years, hardly anyone in Germany has warned of the pandemic as urgently as Karl Lauterbach. Now, despite all caution, the Federal Minister of Health has tested positive for the corona virus.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has been infected with the corona virus. The 59-year-old tested positive on Thursday evening, his ministry said early Friday morning. He is doing well, he only has mild symptoms and is temporarily doing his official business from home isolation. According to his ministry, Lauterbach has been vaccinated four times.
“This shows that with the highly contagious omicron variant, infection cannot be completely ruled out, even with extreme caution,” the ministry wrote. The minister therefore once again appeals to everyone to behave prudently and to ensure adequate vaccination protection so that infections and severe courses can be prevented as far as possible.
The SPD politician repeatedly warns of the corona virus and possibly highly contagious variants that can still occur. On Wednesday, Lauterbach and Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann presented a new concept to arm Germany against a possible autumn corona wave. The focus is on wearing FFP2 or medical masks.
An FFP2 mask requirement in long-distance trains and airplanes should continue to apply nationwide, as well as a new mask and test requirement in hospitals and care facilities. The countries should decide for themselves whether they also require masks in publicly accessible indoor areas such as supermarkets. In schools, a mask requirement is only allowed if face-to-face teaching is endangered – and then only from the fifth grade.
