Germany to make Covid quarantine voluntary from May 1st
Germany will no longer impose compulsory quarantines on people infected with the coronavirus from May 1st, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Monday.
Isolation remains "strongly recommended", said Lauterbach, but he added that it will from next month be done "on a voluntary basis".
"The current rules work but (it) is not necessary in the long term," he said.
The only exceptions are employees of medical institutions, who must continue to isolate for five days if they catch the virus, he said.
READ ALSO: How Germany wants to relax quarantine measures
Infection numbers in Germany remain high, but with most cases reported to be mild, hospitals have not been overwhelmed.
As a result, Europe's biggest economy has relaxed coronavirus curbs, lifting a requirement to wear masks in shops or schools.
An initial drive by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government for compulsory vaccinations has also petered out.
As a proposal to introduce mandatory jabs for over-18s was unlikely to win a majority in parliament, the government committee working on the plan has scaled down its ambitions to look at compulsory vaccinations for over-50s.
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Isolation remains "strongly recommended", said Lauterbach, but he added that it will from next month be done "on a voluntary basis".
"The current rules work but (it) is not necessary in the long term," he said.
The only exceptions are employees of medical institutions, who must continue to isolate for five days if they catch the virus, he said.
READ ALSO: How Germany wants to relax quarantine measures
Infection numbers in Germany remain high, but with most cases reported to be mild, hospitals have not been overwhelmed.
As a result, Europe's biggest economy has relaxed coronavirus curbs, lifting a requirement to wear masks in shops or schools.
An initial drive by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government for compulsory vaccinations has also petered out.
As a proposal to introduce mandatory jabs for over-18s was unlikely to win a majority in parliament, the government committee working on the plan has scaled down its ambitions to look at compulsory vaccinations for over-50s.
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