BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – At the beginning of February, the mask requirement in long-distance traffic will fall nationwide – people in Germany are divided when it comes to the question of wearing a mask voluntarily. In a recent survey, 43 percent of those surveyed stated that they “very likely” or “rather likely” want to continue wearing mouth and nose protection on trains and buses, as the opinion research institute YouGov announced on Friday. On the other hand, 47 percent answered that they would rather or very likely not want to do this.
A week ago, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) announced the end of the mask requirement on long-distance trains and buses on February 2nd. In local transport, for which the federal states are responsible, wearing a mask should no longer be mandatory until the beginning of February. Several federal states have already implemented this, and all others are now following suit. Lauterbach promoted wearing a mask voluntarily for self-protection./csd/DP/jha
