Heavy return of Covid and mandatory mask use may return to Germany. Faced with a very evident increase in infections, the debate about mandatory indoors reopens: “If you don’t do it now, when will it come?”, asked Gerald Gass, head of the Federation of German Hospitals in an interview with the Passauer Neue Presse . With its 731.9 cases per 100,000 population recorded today, the country is ahead in the number of infections compared to many other states. Not to mention that the official cases are certainly not all, experts point out, according to which few, even if they find themselves infected, undergo official tests.
The high number of vaccines makes it possible to limit the severity of infections, but the situation in hospitals is such that many non-critical operations and treatments are postponed. For Gass, “this is the situation of half of the health units. And it will get worse in the coming weeks”. However, not everyone agrees with the obligation to wear a mask: for Andreas Gassen, who belongs to another medical association, the decision must remain personal. Currently, masks are only required on public transport, doctors’ offices, hospitals and nursing homes.
Meanwhile, the German health minister urged the country’s 16 countries to consider the opportunity to strengthen measures against Covid-19 after a significant increase in new cases. Karl Lauterbach believes that it is necessary to reinstate the need to wear a mask even indoors, a measure that has practically disappeared in Germany, except on public transport, in medical facilities and in nursing homes. “The direction we’re going is not good,” Lauterbach said. German authorities have recorded more than 114,000 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours and 165 Covid-related deaths.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
