After several retail chains, Edeka has also announced that it will not generally maintain the mask requirement from next week.

"We lack the options for controls," said a spokeswoman for the supermarket chain.

The company still recommends wearing a medical mask voluntarily when visiting supermarkets to protect customers and employees.

"Unfortunately, with the amendment to the Infection Protection Act, the legislator decided that the obligation to wear masks can only be ordered in exceptional cases and in special hotspots," criticized Edeka.

"Therefore, one cannot expect that we will continue to enforce a mask requirement with the help of house rules."

What applies at Ikea or Woolworth?

The furniture retailer Ikea and the clothing chain Ernsting's family also want to lift the mask requirement from Monday, but recommend that their visitors continue to wear mouth and nose protection.

At the Woolworth department store chain and the Thalia bookstore chain, customers will no longer have to wear a mask from next week.

The food chains Lidl and Rewe initially kept a low profile on Wednesday when it came to the question of how things would go for them next week.

According to the amended Infection Protection Act, the federal states will only be able to set a few everyday requirements for masks in clinics and nursing homes from this Sunday.

They can impose further requirements, including mask requirements in retail, in regional hotspots if the state parliament determines that there is an impending critical corona situation.

For the time being, however, such hotspots are only planned in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg.