Healthcare workers could take off their corona masks – but should they? In fact, it is not the individual who decides, but the employer.
Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) – Even after the general obligation to wear corona masks for employees in health care facilities has ceased to exist, operators of medical practices can issue contrary orders. The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Health made this clear at the request of the German Press Agency in Düsseldorf.
Every employer is legally obliged to identify hazards for their employees and to reduce or eliminate them to a minimum, a spokesman said. This includes the threat of viruses such as Corona. Protective equipment such as corona masks are still a possible countermeasure. If the employer makes masks available after a risk assessment, his employees would have a duty to cooperate under labor law to wear them.
The mask requirement for employees in healthcare facilities expired on March 1st. For patients and visitors in practices, clinics and nursing homes, however, it applies until April 7th in accordance with the Federal Infection Protection Act in order to further protect risk groups.
Even after this period, however, doctors could invoke their domiciliary rights and even require their patients to continue to wear protective masks, the Ministry of Health announced. In emergencies, however, they would also have to treat without a mask.
Hygiene plays a central role for dentists, said a spokeswoman for the Westphalia-Lippe Dental Association of the dpa. “The Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance has been repealed, so the employer is again responsible for deciding whether a mask should be worn.” Hazards must always be assumed – especially during treatment. “As at all times, the dentists and their employees will continue to wear personal protective equipment in accordance with the employer’s individual risk assessment.”
The North Rhine Association of General Practitioners fears that the end of the mask requirement will probably result in an increasing wave of infections in practices. “The mask should be worn when dealing with seriously ill or infectious patients,” emphasized a spokeswoman. “Each practice has to decide individually about an obligation to do so.” In general, the political decision to eliminate the obligation to wear masks is a logical consequence from the point of view of the General Practitioners’ Association. “We will have to live with Corona. The immune competence of the population through vaccinations and diseases allows these measures.”
