Germany's federal and state governments plan to end more coronavirus protection rules across the country early, by the beginning of March, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
The German Ministry of Health announced that state health ministers have agreed to an early end to the rules on mandatory mask-wearing and mandatory testing for staff and residents of care homes and health facilities, which had originally been due to expire on 7 April. However, the mandatory mask rule is expected to remain in place for visitors to doctors' practices, hospitals and care homes.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the infection situation has been generally stable for weeks, noting that hospitals are able to provide good care for COVID-19 patients, but stressed the need to remain cautious when visiting medical facilities.
He added that masks must still be worn by anyone wishing to visit patients or care home residents or going to the doctor, saying that "protecting the vulnerable is worth this to us." He stressed that "the pandemic is not over yet, but it has lost its terror. The virus can now be controlled in everyday life. And we are drawing conclusions from this."
Many coronavirus rules had been included in the nationwide Infection Protection Act in preparation for the possibility that the pandemic situation could become more critical during the winter.
Mandatory mask-wearing on long-distance trains and buses was lifted early at the beginning of February. Mandatory mask-wearing on local public transport is no longer in force under the rules applied in the states, and states have gradually abolished mandatory isolation for people infected with COVID-19.
