The German Parliament on Friday approved the lifting of most of the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the country, despite the fact that daily infections are setting one record after another.
A total of 364 members of the governing Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and the Freedom Party (FDP) in the Bundestag – the lower house – endorsed the corresponding bill. Meanwhile, 277 abstained and two abstained in a roll-call vote that followed a heated exchange of views.
Later, the Bundesrat – the Upper House – gave its approval to the legislation, amid protests from the representatives of the German Lander.
As of Sunday, only a handful of protective measures will apply, such as the use of masks and mandatory testing in institutions for vulnerable population groups. Masks will also remain mandatory on buses and trains.
However, regional parliaments may, if necessary, provide for further restrictions in areas particularly affected by COVID-19 infections. Most Lander plan to at least partially maintain the existing restrictions for a transitional period until April 2.
Germany’s Health Minister, the Social Democrat Karl Lauterbach, has justified the relaxation and reminded the Lander that they have other possibilities to intervene to curb infections. He also said that there is no longer any fear of overloading hospitals due to the reduced virulence of the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.
In the meantime, Germany has returned to record levels of infection. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the seven-day incidence has risen to 1,706 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 1,651 infections per 100,000 inhabitants the previous day. Health authorities reported 297,845 new cases in one day and 226 deaths.
