Corona-News: The last corona measures have been dropped

News about Corona from April 09, 2023

Last Corona– Measures have been dropped

Sunday, April 9th, 11:06 am: Around three years after the start of the corona pandemic, the last state protective measures also expired in North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday. Until Good Friday, according to the Federal Infection Protection Act, nationwide FFP2 mask requirements for visitors to medical practices, clinics and care facilities applied. Since Saturday (12:00 a.m.), these rules have also been abolished. However, practices can require patients to continue to wear mouth and nose protection via their domiciliary rights.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) appealed to people to take personal responsibility for protection against Corona. Corona is still “not a harmless cold”. Thanks to vaccinations and increasing immunity among the population, the situation is now different than at the beginning of the pandemic.

According to figures from the Landeszentrum Gesundheit (LZG NRW), more than eight million corona reports and more than 31,900 laboratory-confirmed deaths in connection with Covid-19 were registered in the most populous federal state. However, the information on the number of infections only provides a very incomplete picture, as many cases have not been recorded recently – mainly because by far not all infected people had a PCR test done.

After the first Corona case confirmed in NRW on February 25, 2020 in the Heinsberg district, there were sometimes drastic restrictions on fundamental rights in the months and years that followed: Temporary closures of daycare centers, schools, restaurants, shops, cultural and sports facilities, distance and isolation requirements as well as bans on visiting hospitals and retirement homes had demanded a lot from the people.

Nationwide corona requirements over – further crisis rules ended

Saturday, April 08, 03:34: In Germany, after around three years, there are no longer any nationwide requirements for protection in the Corona crisis. From Saturday onwards, the last remaining mask requirement for visitors to practices, clinics and nursing homes will also be over. The expiry of the Corona regulations at Easter was already planned from the outset in the Infection Protection Act. There are no longer any extra crisis rules in other areas such as corona vaccinations, entry to Germany and hospital discharges.

The Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen told the German Press Agency that the omission of the last requirements was a reasonable step in the deliberate, gradual withdrawal in recent months. “However, the end of the pandemic-related protection requirements does not mean the end of the corona virus.” Many are still suffering from the consequences of the disease to this day. “Caution and careful monitoring of the situation will remain the order of the day in terms of infection protection policy.” In healthcare, “as patients, relatives or health professionals, even without a mask requirement to protect vulnerable people, we will have to continue to wear masks on a regular basis”.

The long-standing state protection requirements were relaxed in several steps. At the beginning of March, all test obligations that last applied to visits to clinics or nursing homes were eliminated. At the same time, the offer of free “citizen tests” for everyone, which cost the state billions, ended. The once numerous mask requirements, for example in shops, buses and trains, are long gone. The federal states have already given up an obligation to isolate infected people.

Corona vaccination remains covered by health insurance in Lower Saxony

Friday, April 07, 12:21 p.m.: Anyone who is legally insured and wants to be vaccinated against Corona in a doctor’s office will not have to pay extra for it in Lower Saxony in the future either. Statutory health insurance companies and the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVN) agreed on Thursday to include the corona vaccination in standard care. The practices will therefore be paid 15 euros for the vaccination from Saturday. At the peak of the pandemic, they received 28 to 36 euros for it. Because the previous Corona Vaccination Ordinance is expiring, the further financing of the vaccinations was unclear for a long time.

From Saturday no more corona measures in Bavaria

06:39: According to the state rules, the last nationwide corona measures will also expire on Friday at midnight. “For the first time in more than three years, there will no longer be any generally mandatory protective measures, neither under state law nor under federal law,” explained Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek on Thursday in Munich.

“In Bavaria, we’ve done well for a long time by putting personal responsibility in place of state orders,” added the CSU politician. He also emphasized that all in all, people in this country had come through the pandemic well. “We shouldn’t downplay the success that many lives were saved in a real effort of solidarity and the biggest health crisis in 100 years was overcome.”

The memory of complete lockdowns and strict contact restrictions will certainly last for a long time. The once numerous mask requirements, for example in shops, buses and trains, have now been lifted for some time. At the beginning of March, all the remaining test obligations that still applied to visits to clinics or nursing homes were eliminated. Finally, according to the Infection Protection Act, a mask requirement for visitors to practices, clinics and care facilities applies until the end of Good Friday, April 7th. On Holy Saturday, April 8th, that too will be over.

Mask rules in practices and clinics can remain voluntary

Thursday, April 6th, 1:05 am: In practices and clinics, mask rules can remain in place even after the end of the state corona requirements is approaching – but depending on the decision of the local facilities. The head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, told the German Press Agency: “Of course, practices can specify an additional obligation to wear a mask within the meaning of their house rules, and everyone can continue to wear a mask voluntarily.” But it is good, that soon there will no longer be an automatic obligation and that the principle of personal responsibility will apply again.

The head of the German Hospital Society (DKG), Gerald Gaß, told the dpa: “Clinics are used to defining hygiene measures to protect their patients, even independently of Corona.” dealing with this disease. “Hospitals will then decide individually, depending on the situation, which measures to take.” This will depend, for example, on the patient clientele and certainly also depending on the area of ​​the hospital.

After three years in the pandemic, the last nationwide corona requirements in the Infection Protection Act also end at Easter. Masks are still compulsory for visitors to practices, clinics and nursing homes until this Friday. It’s over on Saturday too.

KBV boss Gassen said that Corona had not been in a threatening situation for many months. “Against this background, it is logical that the mask requirement for patients in practices ends.” Gaß told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Thursday) that a mask requirement everywhere in the clinics made no sense for employees. “You can’t expect that from the visitors either.”

The last Corona rules end at Easter – the mask requirement is finally over

6:11 p.m.: More than three years after the beginning of the pandemic, the last Corona rules expire at Easter. April 7th is the last day of validity of the Corona regulations in the nationwide Infection Protection Act. The current situation, in which Corona has developed into an endemic virus, gives cause for optimism, said Hesse’s Social Affairs Minister Kai Klose (Greens) on Wednesday in Wiesbaden. Corona is now a manageable risk.

From Saturday, the remaining corona regulations, such as the obligation to wear a mask in medical facilities, will no longer apply. The ministry announced that there were exceptions in individual institutions that enforce regulations via domiciliary rights.

In a letter to schoolchildren and parents, Minister of Education Alexander Lorz (CDU) had already pointed out the end of the remaining corona regulations in schools at the end of March. These were hardly noticeable in everyday school life anyway.

With a view to future pandemics, Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) called for the Infection Protection Act to be revised. The experience of the pandemic would have to be taken into account and legal certainty created for further pandemics.

Rhein said that practicable regulations that apply to a wide variety of pandemics and all pathogens are needed. The expert committee made up of the Bundestag and the federal government had already identified a considerable need for reform last year. The necessary revision should be carried out together with the federal states, demanded Rhein.

Woman is said to have traded hundreds of fake vaccination cards

16.30 o’clock: In Swabia, a woman is said to have forged and sold several hundred vaccination cards. The 31-year-old was already targeted by the investigators in autumn 2021. At that time, during the pandemic, the woman was said to have sold the health cards with false labels for corona vaccinations on a larger scale via the Internet.

The investigations against the woman led to further searches in Memmingen and in the Unterallgäu district almost two weeks ago. Seven other people between the ages of 23 and 49 are suspected of having bought fake vaccination documents on a large scale in order to resell them for a profit. As a police spokeswoman reported on Wednesday, the number of vaccination cards is in the middle three-digit range.

The Kripo in Memmingen had set up an investigation group a year and a half ago. In December 2021, the 31-year-old’s apartment was searched and evidence was secured.

“During the subsequent evaluation of the accused’s electronic storage media, the investigators found evidence of an extensive distribution network,” the police reported. A large number of chat histories had been evaluated Evidence seized from the seven other suspects in March should now be evaluated.

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