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Most Germany-wide Covid rules to expire on March 1st

Germany's federal and state health ministers are scrapping more coronavirus protection requirements earlier than planned.

Published: 14 February 2023 16:33 CET

Lauterbach face mask

German health minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) answering questions at a press conference with a face mask. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Kay Nietfeld

For residents and staff in health care facilities and nursing homes, there will no longer be the requirement to take a Covid test or wear a FFP2 face mask. These measures are set to expire early on March 1st, instead of April 7th, as previously planned.

However, masks must still be worn when visiting doctors, clinics and nursing homes, Germany’s Health Ministry announced on Tuesday.

“Anyone who visits patients or nursing home residents, who attends doctor’s appointments, must continue to wear a mask. That should be worth to us the protection of vulnerable groups,” said Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach in a statement.

This last regulation – mandatory masks for visitors to doctors and health care facilities – will expire on April 7th, Lauterbach said at a brief press conference on Tuesday. “And then a continuation is also no longer planned.”

‘Stabilised situation’

Germany has been progressively peeling away coronavirus protection requirements. The requirement to wear a FFP2 face mask on public transport ended on February 2nd.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in February 2023

Lauterbach, who has been especially strict in his stance towards protective measures against Covid-19, said in January that “the infection situation has stabilised”.

He encouraged people to continue wearing masks voluntarily “on the basis of personal responsibility”, adding that “the virus should not be trivialised” and warning of potential longer-term impacts.

Several factors have contributed to the measures being repealed, Lauterbach said, including a higher level of immunity in the public and a reduced chance of new mutations, which meant a winter resurgence of the virus was unlikely.

The country has a current seven-day-incidence of 96 cases per 100,000 residents.

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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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