Mr Buschmann, the traffic light government has thrown itself into the redesign of the corona measures with verve.

They wanted to do a lot differently.

Now the Infection Protection Act has become confusing.

What went wrong?

Corinna Budras

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Of course, as the Federal Minister of Justice, it is important to me that laws and ordinances are clear and easy to understand.

However, it is more important than aesthetic standards that the corona measures are successful.

That is exactly the case.

I'll fix that at three points.

First: The measures are working - the fourth wave with the delta variant has been broken.

New infections have decreased over a longer period of time.

Of course, because of Omikron, this is no reason to give the all-clear.

Second: We achieved this success without a lockdown and without nationwide school closings.

And thirdly: We wanted to make decisions more transparent and strengthen Parliament - we succeeded.

In the meantime, however, you can no longer rule out a lockdown.

The Federal Minister of Health and I agree: We don't need a lockdown at the moment. Our policy aims to successfully combat the pandemic while avoiding a lockdown and school closings as far as possible. But: The corona situation is constantly changing. We are constantly dealing with new dangers, and we are constantly acquiring new knowledge about the variants of the virus. I therefore do not think it is wise to categorically exclude measures for all time. But more important than speculation is that we have the most successful booster campaign in all of Europe and are therefore at the forefront of fighting pandemics. The booster does not offer one hundred percent protection; However, previous studies show that it also protects very well against severe gradients in the new Omikron variant.

For a long time you have said: the vaccination must be worthwhile.

Now, from December 28th, vaccinated people will also have to adhere to the contact restrictions.

Does that mark a turning point?

The new regulations react to the new knowledge about the Omikron variant.

They continue to make a reasonable difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

The principle of proportionality applies: we must always keep in mind what the alternatives are in order to protect ourselves effectively, and what is the mildest of these alternatives.

We have therefore always said that moderate contact restrictions are preferable to nationwide lockdowns or school closings.

That is why we included this instrument in the package of measures right from the start when we replaced the old law.

Doesn't that also mean that we have to change the concept of the “fully vaccinated”?

That is no longer the case after two vaccinations.

“Fully vaccinated” is intended to express that the risk to yourself and others is significantly reduced.

If there are new findings from research here, we will have to react to them.

So that means: Only those who can show three vaccinations can get the green passport?

The EU certificate, also known as the green passport, is a digital aid.

According to the uniform EU requirements, the certificate must clearly state whether the vaccination program has been completed or not.

That is again a question of scientific knowledge about the effects of the vaccines used, which is being closely monitored at European level.

The EU will then also react to the new evidence.

We already have this position: Omicron.