The pressure on the federal government to end the isolation obligation for corona infected people is increasing. The states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein called on Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) in a joint letter on Tuesday to ensure that the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) now changes the rules quickly. The letter is available from the German Press Agency.
Baden-Württemberg’s Health Minister Manne Lucha (Greens) said: “We should gradually get into the mode of treating a corona infection like another infectious disease, where the following applies: if you are sick, stay at home.” You have to look forward to more Set personal responsibility and no longer prescribe people a five-day isolation obligation.
The four countries expect Lauterbach to take action by October 10 at the latest. In your letter you refer to Austria, where the obligation to separate has been replaced by a so-called “traffic restriction” since August 1st. There, infected people must wear an FFP2 mask for ten days in most places, but they are not allowed to visit nursing homes and clinics. But you can go to your workplace. “The end of the obligation to isolate has not led to any relevant increase in reported cases in Austria,” write the four health ministers in their letter.
They argue that a large part of the population in Germany is immunized, either through vaccinations or through infections. The clinics are also able to deal with Corona. Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) said he had asked the federal government to act months ago. “Now Lauterbach must finally take action.” The CSU politician, like his Hessian colleague Kai Klose (Greens), is concerned that there could otherwise be problems with the so-called critical infrastructure if, for example, nursing staff and police officers were absent.
Schleswig-Holstein’s Health Minister Kerstin von der Decken (CDU) said that one had to learn that the corona virus spreads in a similar way to the flu virus. “The adjustment of the isolation rules is a step on the way back to normality.” Currently, people suffering from corona in Germany have to isolate themselves at least five days after the positive test result, even without symptoms, because they could be contagious.
