Minister, the traffic light coalition's draft law on protection against infection stipulates that the federal states should adopt their own rules for March 20, including hotspot strategies.

Do you already have the new rules in your drawer?

Timo Steppat

Editor in Politics.

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No, we haven't, because we don't even know the criteria under which a hotspot is defined.

So what does increasing infection dynamics mean?

If we test less, it is difficult to make general statements about this.

The incidence is no longer the decisive criterion.

What happens when we face other variants?

What about the health system overload?

These questions are open.

The countries are supposed to make rules for which there is no framework - and they are subject to the proviso that the parliaments have to agree.

After all, what we decide has to stand up in court.

Given the current situation, the bill is irresponsible.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) himself warned on Friday morning that the situation was very critical.

There were record infection numbers this week.

Does the federal government pass on responsibility to the states?

Yes.

It is a capitulation by Mr. Lauterbach to the coalition partner, the FDP.

When I hear him at the press conference and then put the law next to it: It just doesn't add up.

He could not assert himself politically.

He tries to shift responsibility with a technically unsuitable law.

It is also a capitulation to the pandemic.

It's about acting quickly and as uniformly as possible nationwide - neither is given.

The emergency options that we have so far are being handed over.

Everyone wants normalcy, and we want that too, but we won't achieve it that way.

There are no regulations in the federal states and only basic protection nationwide.

What does this mean for the fight against the pandemic?

Should the law pass, we will maneuver into a political inability to act in a very critical phase of the pandemic.

The basic protection measures are completely inadequate, and the path that is to be opened up to the federal states can hardly be followed with legal certainty and certainly not quickly due to technical errors in the law.

In this respect, I am asking Mr. Lauterbach and the federal government to admit this and to extend the current regulation for the time being, in order to then reach an agreement with the federal states.

In you, as in other countries, there is great dissatisfaction that the draft law came at around one o'clock in the morning and that feedback was to be given by ten o'clock the next morning.

Mr. Lauterbach says the bill was closely voted on.

Who is right?

At the Health Ministers' Conference last Monday, the Federal Minister of Health briefly provided information about the key points and announced a draft, which we should de facto report back to within nine hours overnight.

This is not possible.

In your country, the Free Voters are pushing for masks to be removed from schools while you want to stick with it.

Aren't you facing a similar conflict as Mr. Lauterbach?

So far we have carried everything together in the cabinet.

And as Health Minister, I make it clear that we need certain measures.

Our coalition partner knows that too.