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BAVARIA

EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Bavaria’s new FFP2 mask requirement

As of Monday, it's mandatory to wear a highly-protective FFP2 face mask in Bavaria. Here's what you need to know, from where to get them to where the measure applies.

EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Bavaria's new FFP2 mask requirement
A person wears a FFP2 mask on public transport in Munich. Photo: DPA

As of Monday January 18th, an FFP2 protective mask must be worn in the state of Bavaria on all public transport and when shopping. However, this obligation does not apply to staff, only to customers – and it excludes children up to and including 14 years of age. 

Children and adolescents from the age of six to 14 must continue to wear mouth and nose coverings as before.

Before the measure went into effect, FFP2 masks were already required when visiting relatives in a nursing home. 

READ ALSO: Bavaria orders compulsary FFP2 masks on public transport and in shops

State premier Markus Söder, of Angela Merkel's CDU sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), announced the changes after a cabinet meeting in Munich on Tuesday January 12th.

He said that the “normal community masks” were for the protection of others during the pandemic. FFP2 masks also protect the wearer.

The aim, he said, was to improve safety in public transport and in the retail trade.

Where can you buy FFP2 masks?

The masks are sold in drugstores, pharmacies and also online. According to the Bavarian Trade Association, prices should range between €1 and €5 each. However, some shops charge more.

The trade association points out that the masks are also available via “Click & Collect” in DIY stores.

How well does the mask protect? 

While everyday masks (ie. those made of fabric) protect others, FFP2 masks also protect the wearer – but not 100 percent, so the wearers must also continue to observe distance and hygiene rules.

However, the masks filter 94 percent of airbourne particles.

The masks do not have to and should not be changed daily, but can be used several times. They must not be washed so as not to destroy the filter function.

Who gets free FFP2 masks?

Following criticism from social organisations and opposition politicians, the Bavarian state government has announced that it will provide a total of 2.5 million FFP2 masks free of charge for people in need. 

A person holding a FFP2 mask. Photo: DPA

The distribution is to be organised via the cities and districts, if possible by the end of next week.

The masks will be mailed or distributed in other ways, said health minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU). The municipalities have data on people with lower incomes, i.e. who are dependent on basic income support. The initial goal is five free masks per person.

READ ALSO: Where and how these risks groups in Germany can get free FFP2 masks

For whom are FFP2 masks available at a reduced price?

At the end of December, the federal government decided to issue FFP2 masks for people over 60 and chronically ill people. In a first step in December, those affected were to be able to get three masks free of charge at the pharmacy. 

Since January 1st, they are set to receive vouchers from their health insurance company for two sets of six masks, each with a co-payment of €2. However, according to pharmacists, the issuing of the vouchers is slow.

How do qualified people get the vouchers for FFP2 masks?

In the course of January 2021, eligible people will receive two coupons for six masks each from their statutory or private health insurers. 

The coupons will be sent out in three installations: first, people aged 75 and over will receive them, then people aged 70 and over as well as people with certain illnesses and risk factors, and in the third mailing all insured persons aged 60 and over.

The first coupon can be redeemed at the pharmacy between January 1st and February 28th, the second between February 16th and April 15th.

Do FFP2 masks have to be worn on regional and long-distance trains?

No. FFP2 masks must be worn on local trains. This obligation does not apply on long-distance trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. Mouth and nose protection is still required, though.

What happens if I am caught wearing a “community mask” instead of an FFP2 mask?

In enforcement and in the assessment of a possible fine, it may be taken into account whether no mask at all was worn or simply not the prescribed mask. That means that fines can vary on a case by case basis.

In the first week, however, there will be a “goodwill week” during which no penalties will be imposed for violations.

Member comments

  1. Adrian, your comment is silly. really, unless you can cite a real person or a real news source, please don’t bother with these hysterics. look carefully. The lack of citations and poor use of English demonstrates that Summit a News is a farce.

  2. https://www.thelocal.de/20210118/german-considers
    Seems that Im not being hysterical Paul Dobbs.
    Is this ‘news’ source sufficent or does it also lack citations & demonstrate poor english?
    When are people gonna wake up & realise nothing good will come from this.
    First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a socialist.

    Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a trade unionist.

    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a Jew.

    Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
    -Pastor Niemoller

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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