Germany will soon drop a mask mandate on long-distance trains and buses, one of the country's last remaining COVID-19 restrictions, the health minister said on Friday.
The mandate will be dropped on February 2, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced in Berlin.
Other European countries already have scrapped mask mandates in public transport, and Lauterbach faced increasing pressure to follow suit in recent weeks.
Masks remain mandatory in doctors' practices, while masks and negative tests are still required to enter hospitals and nursing homes.
Rules for local transportation are a matter for Germany's 16 state governments, and an increasing number have dropped or are dropping their mask mandates. Some also have scrapped rules requiring infected people to isolate at home.
The long-distance transportation rules were scheduled to end on April 7, though legislation allows for them to be suspended earlier if the situation is better than expected.
After one of Germany's top virologists said shortly after Christmas that the pandemic is over, Lauterbach who has long taken a cautious stance faced mounting calls from inside and outside the governing coalition to do away with them.
The pandemic situation has stabilized, the minister said on Friday, with the number of known or suspected infections stagnating or falling, and the number of people hospitalized continuing to decline.
The population has built up high immunity, and the experts who advise us no longer believe there will be another big, serious winter wave, he added. At this point, we also don't foresee particularly dangerous variants reaching us in the coming weeks and months.
Lauterbach appealed to people who want to continue protecting themselves and others to continue wearing masks voluntarily when indoors and on trains.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You’ve hit your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Quarterly Starter
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online
Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app