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COVID-19 RULES

Germany to make Covid quarantine voluntary from May 1st

Germany will no longer impose compulsory quarantines on people infected with the coronavirus from May 1st, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Monday.

Published: 4 April 2022 19:19 CEST
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach speaks at a press conference on Monday.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach speaks at a press conference on Monday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd von Jutrczenka

Isolation remains “strongly recommended”, said Lauterbach, but he added that it will from next month be done “on a voluntary basis”.

“The current rules work but (it) is not necessary in the long term,” he said.

The only exceptions are employees of medical institutions, who must continue to isolate for five days if they catch the virus, he said.

READ ALSO: How Germany wants to relax quarantine measures

Infection numbers in Germany remain high, but with most cases reported to be mild, hospitals have not been overwhelmed.

As a result, Europe’s biggest economy has relaxed coronavirus curbs, lifting a requirement to wear masks in shops or schools.

An initial drive by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government for compulsory vaccinations has also petered out.

As a proposal to introduce mandatory jabs for over-18s was unlikely to win a majority in parliament, the government committee working on the plan has scaled down its ambitions to look at compulsory vaccinations for over-50s.

Member comments

  1. Well I doubt lauterbach is trying to position himself as a voice of reason before we go into the inevitable inquests into covid policy. But he is changing his tune. And fast.

  2. That was possibly the fastest u-turn in politics. This guy really just flip flops through policies

  3. Pingback: Anonymous
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COVID-19 RULES

Germany to repeal last protective measures against Covid-19

Three years after Germany introduced a series of protective measures against the coronavirus, the last are set to be repealed on Friday.

Published: 6 April 2023 10:42 CEST
Germany to repeal last protective measures against Covid-19

The remaining restrictions – or the requirement to wear a mask in surgeries, clinics and nursing homes – are falling away a couple of days after German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) made an announcement that the Covid-19 pandemic is “over.”

“We have successfully managed the pandemic in Germany,” said Lauterbach at a press conference on Wednesday.

In light of low infection numbers and virus variants deemed to be less dangerous, Germany has been steadily peeling away the last of its longstanding measures. 

READ ALSO: Germany monitoring new Covid variant closely, says Health Minister

The obligation to wear a mask on public transport was lifted on February 2nd. 

During the height of the pandemic between 2020 and 2021, Germany introduced its strictest measures, which saw the closure of public institutions including schools and daycare centres (Kitas).

“The strategy of coping with the crisis had been successful overall,” said Lauterbach, while also admitting: “I don’t believe that the long school closures were entirely necessary.”

Since the first coronavirus cases in Germany were detected in January 2020, there have been over 38 million reported cases of the virus, and 171,272 people who died from or with the virus, according to the Robert Koch Institute. 

Voluntary measures

In surgeries and clinics, mask rules can remain in place on a voluntary basis – which some facilities said they would consider based on their individual situations. 

“Of course, practices can stipulate a further obligation to wear masks as part of their house rules, and likewise everyone can continue to wear a mask voluntarily,” the head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, told DPA.

But Gassen said it was good there would no longer be an “automatic obligation”, and that individuals could take the responsibility of protecting themselves and others into their own hands. 

READ ALSO: Is the pandemic over in Germany?

“Hospitals are used to establishing hygiene measures to protect their patients, even independently of the coronavirus,” the head of the German Hospital Association (DKG), Gerald Gaß, told DPA.

With the end of the last statutory Covid measures, he said, we are entering “a new phase” in dealing with this illness. 

“Hospitals will then decide individually according to the respective situation which measures they will take,” he said, for example based on the ages and illnesses of the patients being treated.

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