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Bundestag approves easing of COVID-19 rules for immunized people

Europe Materials 7 May 2021 06:11 (UTC +04:00)
Bundestag approves easing of COVID-19 rules for immunized people

The German Bundestag (lower house of Parliament) approved the easing of COVID-19 restrictions for people who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

They will be allowed to enter stores, for example, without prior testing as early as next weekend, according to a statement issued by the Bundestag. A visit to the zoo or the hairdresser would also not require a valid negative COVID-19 test anymore.

Since vaccinated and recovered people in Germany "no longer endanger others and also no longer endanger themselves," fundamental rights for this group of people could not be restricted anymore, said Germany's Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Christine Lambrecht during the Bundestag debate.

Contact restrictions and curfews would also be lifted for vaccinated and recovered people, so that people in nursing homes, for example, who had to eat alone in their rooms for a long time could once again eat together in shared dining rooms, Lambrecht said.

As there is no complete protection for vaccinated and recovered individuals, the distancing requirement and the mandatory use of face masks in public spaces would remain in force, according to the Bundestag.

"We must all work together at full speed to ensure that these steps towards normality soon apply not only to those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, but that we all work our way back to this longed-for normality," said Lambrecht.

The new regulation is expected to be formally passed by the upper house of Parliament (Bundesrat) today.

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