German education minister: No mandatory masks in schools for now

German schools should not revert to mandatory mask policies for the time being, says Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, reported dpa.

"The pupils need as much normality as possible in the new school year," she told dpa on Thursday. Masks, she said, were only provided for in the new Infection Protection Act in schools from fifth grade and up and only as a last resort, when attendance in class would be jeopardized otherwise.

"That is a tough criterion. My expectation is that the federal states will not make use of it in the current coronavirus situation," she added. "This would only change in the case of a new variant of the virus emerging which is much more contagious and dangerous."

The Bundestag votes on Thursday on new coronavirus regulations in the Infection Protection Act. They are the legal basis for measures to contain the virus in Germany's federal states.