(GermanPolicy.com) – According to the leader of the Liberal parliamentary group in the Bundestag, the FDP supports a “return to normality” through the infection protection law to be passed next week by the Bundestag, followed by the Bundesrat. “With the agreement on the changes to the Infection Protection Act, we are sending a clear signal in the coalition. After more than two years of restrictions, we can return to normality in Germany,” emphasized Christian Dürr. Fortunately, the healthcare system is no longer overburdened, he said. Masks on public transport will still be possible. “In the event of an impending local overload of the health system due to a new virus variant or a severe infection situation, the countries will also be capable of acting,” explained Dürr.
Criticism by Union parties
The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), on the other hand, was critical of the forthcoming law. “Basic protection measures agreed across the board and tried-and-tested instruments for combating pandemics will be abolished; instead, the draft outlines a patchwork of rules,” he said. The population will not understand the coming legal situation. In addition, the Federal Government’s draft law does not allow short reaction times. “It would have been important for the Federal and State Governments to exchange views on how basic protection can be anchored in such a way that we can control the Coronavirus permanently, as promised by the Federal Government.” Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) expressed his fears of a “political inability to act,” calling for the German states to react promptly.
Vaccinations crucial
Frank Ulrich Montgomery, the chairman of the World Medical Association, feels that the regulations that will soon come into effect are insufficient. The basic protection is “better than nothing,” he pointed out. But further measures would have been useful. The pandemic is “anything but over.” One now had to “put all of our energy into vaccinations – otherwise we’ll experience another autumn and winter characterized by infections”.
As of March 20, nationwide and state-wide measures will largely be dropped. The German states, however, can enact measures on their own.