The number of attacks has already increased significantly, and “the measure taken by the federal government will continue to increase this number,” said the chairman of the general works council, Manfred Scholze, to the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (Friday editions).
He referred to the requirement in the new Infection Protection Act, according to which an FFP2 mask will be mandatory nationwide in long-distance public transport from October 1st.
At the same time, masks are no longer compulsory on airplanes. The Bundestag passed the new rules on Thursday; the Federal Council still has to agree.
Especially recently, it has become more difficult for railway staff to enforce the mask requirement, said Scholze. “There are many people who no longer understand this,” and the lack of understanding is likely to increase with the elimination of the mask requirement on airplanes, warned the head of the works council. It was “ruthless” towards the railway staff not to lift the mask requirement on long-distance trains now.
