Covid: Germany to end mask mandate in long-distance trains, buses from Feb 2

German authorities announced on Friday (January 13) that they will end the mandatory requirement to wear masks on long-distance trains and buses from February 2 as the Covid pandemic situation has stabilised in the country. With this, Spain is the only large European nation to maintain mask rules on such trains and public transport, with the government saying the rules would remain in place till at least March, a report by news agency AFP on Friday said.

The mask mandate (in long-distance trains and buses)in Germany, which had been imposed since the early days of the virus outbreak, was set to expireon April 7 but is now ending sooner. However, German health minister Karl Lauterbach on Friday encouraged people to continue wearing masks voluntarily "on the basis of personal responsibility."

Lauterbach said Covid should not be trivialised and warned of potential long-term impacts. He added that several factors. including a higher level of immunity in the public and a reduced chance of new mutations. contributed to the change in the policy. The health minister added the Covid situation was tense but manageable in hospitals.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Germany has reported more than 37.58 million cases and 163,425 deaths. Several states in the country have already relaxed mask rules in regional public transport. However, it is the central government's responsibility to change mask rules in the long-distance train and bus network.

Germany has scrapped the bulk of Covid restrictions which were imposed at the height of the virus outbreak. However, it is still one of the few countries in Europe to have a mask requirement. People must wear masks at doctors’ practices, while masks and negative tests are still required to enter hospitals and nursing homes in Germany, a report by the Associated Press on Friday said.

Last month, the country's governing coalition had argued whether the remaining virus restrictions should be dropped after Christian Drosten, a top virologist,said that the pandemic is over. “We are experiencing the first endemic wave with SARS-COV 2 this winter; my assessment is that, with this, the pandemic is over,” Drosten told the Tagesspiegel, adding his only reservation would be a major new mutation which he did not expect at the moment.

(With inputs from agencies)

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