Now the basics for the corona protection in autumn are in place. The measures of the new Infection Protection Act will apply from October. How useful are they? How well prepared are we for the cold season? The rules in the epidemiologist check.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach sees Germany as “well prepared” for the fall. Now the new Infection Protection Act (IfSG) has cleared the last hurdle and has also been passed by the Federal Council.

These are the nationwide measures:

You can read more about this here: These Corona rules should apply from October

Virologist Hendrik Streeck was critical of the decision to wear a mask in the FOCUS online interview. “I take a critical view of the obligation to wear masks on the trains. There is a lack of coherence here.” On the one hand, the difference between trains and planes makes no sense. On the other hand, a mask must also fit properly when worn. The expert judges that someone who does not want to wear a mask will not wear it properly either. “Therefore, one should increasingly rely on personal responsibility here.” Streeck finds the mask requirement in hospitals or doctor’s offices sensible. Because there are many risk groups together.

As soon as the proposals were on the table, Ralf Reintjes, epidemiologist at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, evaluated the individual measures for FOCUS online:

Ralf Reintjes is Professor of Epidemiology and Health Reporting at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. His focus is on the investigation of infectious diseases, expertise in surveillance and pandemic preparedness at national and international level (especially Europe, Asia and Africa).

How exactly the individual stages of the catalog of measures are defined has not yet been specifically determined. The federal states have a lot of leeway here.

Reintjes’ conclusion on this was: “An end to the measures at the beginning of April is very optimistic. In recent years, the rate of infection has been very high.” Time will tell how the optimistic recommendations will affect society.