The vast majority of the federal states see no way of applying the so-called hotspot regulation and thus maintaining the previous measures to combat the pandemic nationwide.
Lower Saxony's Health Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) said on Tuesday that apart from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg, no country saw a legal possibility of making the regulation proposed by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD).
Reinhard Bingener
Political correspondent for Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bremen based in Hanover.
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Pure burger
Political correspondent in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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Behrens regretted this lack of options for action and sees the reason for this in the new infection protection law of the traffic light coalition at federal level.
From Sunday on, masks will only be compulsory in a few areas such as nursing, medical care and local public transport, but not in retail.
The hotspot regulation advertised by Lauterbach only applies if there is a risk of the health system being overloaded, explained Behrens.
In view of the high number of infections, the burden on the hospitals is high, “but it is not overloaded”.
The federal states have "little possibilities for interpretation", complained Behrens and referred to the strict examination of the content of the protective measures by the administrative courts.
In view of its strict precautionary measures to date, Lower Saxony is "unsuspected of not using instruments that can be used," emphasized Behrens.
It will now be observed whether the hotspot regulations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg are valid in the courts.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) reiterated his assessment that there is no leeway to identify the whole of NRW as a hotspot with legal certainty.
The federal government recently underlined again how high the hurdles for such protective measures would be by the federal states.
"That's not what 16 prime ministers wanted," criticized Wüst, who is currently chairman of the prime ministers' conference.
The federal government is now also responsible for the further development of the pandemic.
Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) complained that the federal government had taken the instruments away from the states.
"But it would have been right to give us the instrument box so that we can use the instruments depending on the situation." Kretschmann appealed to people to wear masks indoors voluntarily.