German ‘freedom day' arrives but states delay end to restrictions
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- 21 Mar 2022
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As of Sunday, passengers on Deutsche Bahn trains will no longer need to show proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test result, with the state rail company immediately enacting the new law.
Passengers will still need to wear masks while travelling though.
People going to work will also no longer need to obey the so-called 3G rules.
The changes come due to the fact that the old disease protection law ended at midnight on Sunday and was replaced by a law which stipulates more relaxed rules.
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said that “as of now, we are moving people’s personal responsibility to the forefront. We are taking another big step towards normality.”
Most states have made use a transition period though and will only remove rules such as indoor mask wearing at the beginning of April.
The opposition CDU/CSU parties have criticised the government for bringing in the law at a time when daily cases are still high.
Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) told Bild am Sonntag that “instead of a day of freedom, we are threatened with a day of unreason.”
On Sunday a further 131,792 new cases were recorded by the Robert Koch Institute.
At the same time, the number of people in intensive care has remained stable since the end of January and is far below a peak of over 4,000 patients reached on December 13th.
Criticism of the relaxed measures also came for the chairman of the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, who called on the government to reverse its decision. Read More...
