More and more people are getting infected again by COVID 19. While other countries declare that the pandemic is over, German politicians are again calling for protective measures.
Whoever is found in Berlin and specifically on one of the busiest shopping streets, Kyrfürstedam Street, he will believe that the COVID-19 pandemic never existed. No one is keeping their distance, only a few customers are wearing a protective mask in stores and signs asking customers to wear masks have also disappeared. However, this may change soon.
Hospitals are sounding the alarm and more and more doctors and hospital staff are pushing for a rapid reinstatement of the obligation to wear masks indoors. According to the Robert Koch Epidemiological Institute there is an upward trend in the number of patients in hospitals, with the number at the same level as the peak of this year.
The first federal states to require the use of masks, at least in places accessible to the public such as retail, are Berlin and Brandenburg. Ginia Tariq, an employee of a clothing store, believes that the prospects for this measure to be reinstated are not good. “We have a lot of visitors from abroad here and they don’t like masks,” says the young lady while noting that it is also an expensive measure as in order to ensure that people wear masks when they enter, they will need another employee at the entrance.
“The direction we are heading is not good”
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach believes that while the country is well prepared for the coming winter due to vaccines, but also medicines, he still warns: “The direction we are heading is not good,” he says, referring to the situation in hospitals . While the Omicron variant causes less severe complications, deaths increase. The patients with COVID-19 are in normal rather than isolation wards according to the German Hospital Association and do not show serious symptoms when they are admitted to the hospital. However, infected patients need to be isolated and therefore need more space for them and more effort from the staff to meet these needs.
The problem of understaffed hospitals that has not been solved for years has intensified with the COVID-19 pandemic. Entire wards and beds remain empty due to the infections that hospital staff themselves are dealing with and the result is that scheduled treatments are postponed and hospitals are unable to admit and support emergencies. The debate on the possibility of including stricter measures does not, however, concern the new wave of the pandemic, but the possible collapse of hospitals due to the pressure they are under with the energy crisis and the subsequent financial concerns.
Opinions about masks differ
The Minister of Health, however, has his hands “tied”, as according to the law on protection against infections, the federal states can decide for themselves whether or not they want to put stricter measures into effect. mask to avoid more drastic measures later.
The saleswoman of a small boutique on a side street off Kyrfürstedam says she would understand the mandatory use of a mask but stresses that wearing a mask all day at work is simply exhausting. She states that at least the customers in the past were more understanding of the measures and followed them.
Collision incidents due to… mask
However, not everyone shares the same opinion. In Germany, opinions have long been divided on the use of the mask. Anyone who continues to wear it voluntarily has to put up with strange looks or even verbal abuse. In areas where masks are still required such as on railways and local public transport, workers have repeatedly reported clashes with passengers who did not want to wear a mask.
On social media under the hashtags #masksobligationnow and #masksarenomildesmittel, users openly insult each other by presenting their opinions, while Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Zender, speaking on Sunday’s BILD, openly supports the non-mandatory use of the mask, stating that: “At the moment I am hesitant. Everyone can protect themselves by voluntarily wearing a mask and being vaccinated.”
DW – Sabine Kinkarts/ Iosifina Tsagalidou
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
