Will the mask disappear from everyday life in Germany and other countries after the end of the pandemic?

When, at the beginning of the corona pandemic in February 2020, tourists or business travelers from Asian countries boarded German subways or trains wearing only mouth and nose protection, the locals stared at them in disbelief or even smiled at them pityingly.

In Japan, South Korea or China, however, wearing masks in full trains or densely packed crowds was a matter of course long before Corona.

Just out of consideration for others who shouldn't catch a cold or flu virus.

Maskless in medical practices

But in the three years of the pandemic, as in Asia, in Germany too, wearing a mask has become a voluntary protective measure against a Covid 19 infection for many people, even without a state-mandated obligation, for themselves and for people who are particularly at risk.

For others, the mask is the hated symbol of a "corona dictatorship" that brutally curtails freedom rights.

If the mask requirement in long-distance and local transport ends this Thursday, hopefully the associated culture war will also subside.

Whether it makes sense to drop the masks in doctor's offices remains to be seen.

Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg dare to take this next step back to the old normality.