German regions plan to end mandatory COVID isolation
Four German regions plan to scrap rules requiring people infected with the coronavirus to isolate at home, arguing that the pandemic has evolved and it’s time for a different approach
BERLIN (AP) — Four German regions plan to scrap rules requiring people infected with the coronavirus to isolate at home, arguing that the pandemic has evolved and it's time for a different approach.
The health ministry in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said Friday that the region and two of its neighbors, Bavaria and Hesse, as well as Germany's northernmost state, Schleswig-Holstein, were working on details of new rules.
The ministry pointed to declining infections, effective vaccinations, a high degree of population immunity, milder illnesses and the example of countries such as Austria that have loosened rules.
Bavaria said its blanket isolation mandate would end Nov. 16. The state's health minister, Klaus Holetschek, said in a statement that the time was right to give people more individual responsibility.
