Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) has criticized the initiative by Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) to prepare for a possible mask requirement from autumn. “I am in favor of following the law and order. This provides for an evaluation,” Buschmann told the Funke newspapers (Friday editions).

Lauterbach announced on Wednesday evening in the ZDF program “Markus Lanz” that he wanted to create the possibility for autumn to make masks compulsory indoors again in the event of a new corona wave. As part of the work on the Infection Protection Act, which expires in September, Lauterbach considers it “absolutely necessary” to enable the option of wearing masks indoors.

The results of the evaluation should “absolutely” be taken into account “before we prematurely commit to individual measures,” said Buschmann

FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki also takes the same line. He called for a parliamentary review of the Corona policy and made it clear that his party would only support possible renewed restrictions in the fall under strict conditions. “There will not be another autumn and winter in which fundamental rights are restricted due to a diffuse data fog,” said the Bundestag Vice President of the German Press Agency.

In more than two years of the pandemic, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Robert Koch Institute have not been able to collect reasonably usable data, criticized Kubicki. The Free Democrats will only change the Infection Protection Act again in order to make corona restrictions possible again in autumn if the change can be sufficiently scientifically justified.

According to the currently applicable Infection Protection Act, mask requirements are still permitted in a few areas such as medical practices or public transport, and there may still be compulsory tests in schools. In order to be able to order further measures, the federal states must declare regions as hotspots by state parliament resolution. According to the law, all these rules can only be applied until September 23rd.