Face-masks indoors should stay after March 20, German ICU doctors say

The head of a national intensive care association in Germany has said face-masks should continue to be worn in indoor public areas even after March 20, when most of Germany's coronavirus restrictions will be rolled back.

Gernot Marx, the head of the Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi) told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe on Saturday that "wearing masks is a proven and simple protective measure. It would be a mistake to give this up before we need to."

Germany's federal states "should therefore maintain the obligation to wear masks in public indoor areas after March 20."

The federal government has proposed a law to take effect from March 20 which gives more limited powers to the states to impose anti-coronavirus restrictions.

They will still be allowed to impose the wearing of masks in nursing homes, hospitals and public transport as well as testing in nursing homes and schools - but this would not cover all public indoor spaces.

The obligation to wear masks in long-distance trains and aeroplanes will also remain nationwide.

In places where the coronavirus situation is serious, stricter requirements can be imposed, if approved by the regional parliament.

Several federal states have criticized the draft law for being too relaxed in the face of rising coronavirus infection figures in Germany.

The decision to relax most of the measures nationwide had however been agreed in a meeting last month between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the state premiers.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who put forward the draft legislation, has warned against complacency, but defended his bill.