The Hessian Corona Cabinet has agreed to further relax the rules, which were previously intended to curb the spread of the virus.

The main reason for this is that the health care system is not currently threatened with overload, said the Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) when presenting the new regulation.

Monica Ganster

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Although the number of new infections is still high, fewer and fewer Covid 19 patients have to be admitted to a hospital.

As of Thursday, 135 beds in intensive care and 934 beds in normal wards are occupied by patients with a corona infection.

However, the overload limit of the intensive care units would only be reached throughout Hesse if 4,000 beds were to be used, Bouffier classified the numbers.

Compulsory testing lifted from May

As in other federal states, Hesse will significantly shorten the quarantine rules from Friday.

According to this, infected people only have to isolate themselves at home for five days instead of the previous ten.

A free test is then no longer required.

However, if symptoms of the disease are still present after five days, the isolation should be extended independently until there are no symptoms for up to 48 hours.

What is also new is that unvaccinated household members of infected people no longer have to be quarantined.

However, they are advised to cut back on their contacts and test themselves daily for at least five days.

In schools, the compulsory test will be lifted on May 1st.

However, all students and teachers receive two self-tests each week from their schools, which they can use at home.

In addition, a new hygiene plan will come into force, according to which special regulations for breaks and all-day work will no longer apply.

Lessons in sports and music as well as cross-school sports competitions can take place again without restrictions.

In the schools, the incidence of infection is manageable, Bouffier justified the measure.

"That's why we were able to adapt protective measures to the current situation here too." Since Wednesday, 0.28 percent of all Hessian students and 1.04 percent of all teachers have been in domestic isolation.

As of May 1st, it will also no longer be possible to unregister students from face-to-face classes without any prerequisites.

However, if students or their relatives are at risk of developing a severe course of the disease if they become infected, they can apply to be exempted from compulsory attendance at school.

This applies, for example, to a medically confirmed previous illness or immune deficiency.

Masks are still compulsory in public transport

The Prime Minister described distance and masks as the best protection against infection.

Bouffier announced that masks should therefore continue to be worn in local public transport and in healthcare facilities such as hospitals.

The Prime Minister said that despite the easing, the pandemic has by no means reached its end anytime soon.

"We have to continue to be careful and learn to live with Corona".

The key question is currently not how to prevent all infections, but how to responsibly shape freedom.

The latter is particularly evident in the simplified quarantine rules, according to Bouffier.

The CDU politician could not resist a dig at SPD Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach: “The Minister of Health keeps saying that a new killer variant is coming.

It scares people, but not a single suggestion as to what we should do specifically now.

Then the Bundestag and Bundesrat would have to re-enact the law, and one can only hope that it doesn't take months, said Bouffier.