Northeast Germany considers ending mask wearing in August
The rural state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the northeastern corner of Germany is considering ending compulsory mask wearing due to a low coronavirus infection rate.
“If the infection rate stays so low I can’t see any reason to maintain the duty to wear masks in shops,” said the state’s agriculture minister Harry Glawe on Sunday.
“I can fully understand the why the retail sector is so impatient for us to end compulsory mask wearing,” he told Die Welt.
Glawe told the newspaper he expects the state to announce an end to mask wearing in shops during a meeting of the state government on August 4th. He added though that social distancing rules will likely be kept in place.
He added that he was in close conversation with colleagues in other north German states about taking the step to end face-covering together.
“We are trying to ensure that all of north Germany has the same rule,” he said. “Personally I’d like to see the whole of Germany put an end to mask wearing.”
Other states are also considering ending mask wearing.
“We are currently looking at whether we can do without masks in the retail sector,” Petra Köpping, a member of Saxony’s state government said.
Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony have both also signalled that they will seek to roll back the rules on mask wearing.
After a spike in cases in late June, caused primarily by an outbreak at a slaughter house in Gütersloh, corona cases in Germany have dropped back down to 500 a day or less over the past week.
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“If the infection rate stays so low I can’t see any reason to maintain the duty to wear masks in shops,” said the state’s agriculture minister Harry Glawe on Sunday.
“I can fully understand the why the retail sector is so impatient for us to end compulsory mask wearing,” he told Die Welt.
Glawe told the newspaper he expects the state to announce an end to mask wearing in shops during a meeting of the state government on August 4th. He added though that social distancing rules will likely be kept in place.
He added that he was in close conversation with colleagues in other north German states about taking the step to end face-covering together.
“We are trying to ensure that all of north Germany has the same rule,” he said. “Personally I’d like to see the whole of Germany put an end to mask wearing.”
Other states are also considering ending mask wearing.
“We are currently looking at whether we can do without masks in the retail sector,” Petra Köpping, a member of Saxony’s state government said.
Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony have both also signalled that they will seek to roll back the rules on mask wearing.
After a spike in cases in late June, caused primarily by an outbreak at a slaughter house in Gütersloh, corona cases in Germany have dropped back down to 500 a day or less over the past week.
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