Wiesbaden/Frankfurt (dpa/lhe) – After two years of the pandemic, the central corona rules were abolished on Saturday. Only in particularly sensitive areas of life such as hospitals or nursing homes is there a mask and test requirement in Hesse. Mouth and nose protection must also be worn on buses and trains. On the other hand, there are no longer national restrictions on the street, in shops, restaurants or cafes. Restaurateurs, retailers and customers reacted differently to the newfound freedom on day one.
In Frankfurt, Hesse’s largest city, many shoppers were still wearing their usual masks when business started in the morning. Most people also sheltered in the Zeil shopping street and the adjacent weekly market. The famous Kleinmarkthalle posted notices calling on people to voluntarily wear mouth and nose protection – the majority of retailers and customers followed the request.
Individual traders and restaurateurs have made use of their domiciliary rights and have demanded the wearing of the FFP2 mask in their commercial premises. In the old shops, people were still queuing for a coffee. Some department stores, on the other hand, have posted signs stating that you can “now shop safely without a mask”.
The context of the current new Corona Ordinance are the requirements of the amended Federal Infection Protection Act. After that, only basic corona protection measures with a mask requirement and test requirements in narrowly defined areas are legally possible. The new corona rules in Hesse initially apply until April 29.
The mask is then still compulsory in medical practices and hospitals, in retirement and care homes as well as in care and rescue services. On public transport buses and trains as well as on long-distance transport and in collective accommodation such as homeless and refugee accommodation, wearing a mouth and nose guard is always mandatory to prevent infection from corona virus. An exception to this obligation applies in inpatient hospitals.
According to the Hessian state government, employers, employees and visitors to hospitals, retirement and nursing homes and collective housing are obliged to carry out corona tests. Exceptions are possible for vaccinated persons and those who have recovered, as well as for socio-ethical reasons and must be decreed by the management of the establishment. In the event of an outbreak, testing for residents could be ordered by the responsible health authority, particularly in nursing homes.
In schools in Hesse, teachers and pupils will continue to be tested three times a week in accordance with the new Corona ordinance. Prisons and detention centers awaiting deportation can decide on their own to order compulsory testing.
The hotel and gastronomy association Dehoga Hessen had already pointed out on Friday the various reactions to come from its members. A patchwork quilt was also expected in retail. The situation on the spot would have to be decided differently, had predicted the professional association of Hesse.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220402-99-767438/3
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