Massive criticism of the federal government’s planned Infection Protection Act continues to come from business, society and politics. It is said that the exemption from the mask requirement cannot be controlled, and citizens are also put under pressure to be vaccinated again and again.
The regulation planned in the new Infection Protection Act for tests and masks three months after a vaccination is met with severe criticism. The Association of Towns and Municipalities does not consider such a specification to be controllable. The German Association of General Practitioners demanded: “The differentiation between fully vaccinated first and second class patients should urgently be reconsidered.” FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki said that the Bundestag should “not decide on it like that”.
Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach and Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann presented the planned corona measures for autumn and winter on Wednesday. Among other things, the federal states should be able to order a mask requirement in public interiors. There are exceptions for restaurants, cultural institutions and sporting events – for the first three months after a vaccination and for those who have recovered or on presentation of a current test.
“The exemption from the mask requirement for those who have been vaccinated or have recovered can hardly be effectively controlled in everyday life and is very difficult to implement,” said the general manager of the association of cities and municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, the RND newspapers. “Especially with large gatherings of people, it would be an effort that could hardly be managed to check the status in individual cases and to check whether the respective proof is really correct.”
According to the German Association of General Practitioners, the planned mandatory mask regulation devalues ??the corona vaccination. “Of course, some people will ask themselves why they should be vaccinated if the vaccination loses value after three months,” said Federal Chairman Ulrich Weigeldt of the RND.
FDP Vice Kubicki told the “Spiegel” that he would “fight with all his might” that the plans would not be implemented. He criticized “political guidelines on vaccinations” that go beyond the recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission. He considers that “highly problematic in terms of medical ethics”. So far, the STIKO recommends the fourth vaccination for people over 70 and risk groups. Kubicki called on the Bundestag to make changes to the upcoming legislative deliberations.
On the other hand, SPD parliamentary group leader Dirk Wiese defended the planned regulation. The countries could set the stricter rules if the situation required it, “but of course it doesn’t have to be overnight,” he told the “Spiegel”. Wearing a mask in certain places or presenting a test if someone has not been recently vaccinated is “justifiable if the infection situation becomes more difficult again”.
The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) fears collapsing sales if the restrictions increase again in autumn. “We expect that everything will be done to prevent new corona measures,” DEHOGA general manager Ingrid Hartges told RND. There is still a considerable need for clarification regarding the mask requirement and the criteria for the exceptions. The Greens economic politician Dieter Janecek also criticized. “Why it should help to protect against infection if a mask is required when entering a bar or restaurant while it is then not worn indoors needs at least an explanation,” he told the newspaper “Welt”.
The head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Andreas Gassen, also called on the traffic light coalition to revise the draft law. “Forcing people to keep getting new booster vaccinations with such regulations without any scientific basis would be unmedical,” Gassen told the “Bild” newspaper. The CDU health expert Tino Sorge criticized the fact that people who had been vaccinated three times were “actually being pushed to get a fourth or even fifth vaccination”. The planned regulations are “in stark contrast to the applicable STIKO recommendations,” said Sorge to the “Bild” newspaper.
