Mask debate returns to Germany as coronavirus case counts shoot up

With coronavirus case counts rising to the point where Germany is one of the globe's hotspots, German doctors are demanding that lawmakers move to reinstate indoor mask requirements before hospitals are once again overwhelmed, reported dpa.

"If you don't do it now, when would the time be?" asked Gerald Gaß, head of the German Hospital Federation in an interview published in the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper on Saturday.

Germany's 16 states carry prime responsibility for health policy, with the federal government playing a coordinating role. A recent set of guidelines does give the states the power to tighten guidelines if cases spike. However, the average German is tired of mask requirements and other pandemic guidelines.

But case counts have also shot up in recent weeks, with the country's infectious diseases agency, the Robert Koch Institute, logging 731.9 cases per 100,000 residents on Saturday. That puts it ahead of most other countries on multiple monitoring sites.

Additionally, German officials fear case counts are actually much higher because they don't think many people who are infected are bothering to get official tests.

That said, high vaccination rates mean many of those infections are not turning into serious cases.

But that doesn't mean the situation is relaxed in Germany's hospitals.

"At this point, you couldn't say that normal operations are possible at most hospitals," said Gaß. He noted that many non-critical operations and treatments are being delayed and that some beds are not available for use due to staff shortages.

"These are things that are happening in half of the clinics. And the situation is going to get worse in the coming weeks," he told the newspaper.

But the call for masks isn't universal. Andreas Gassen of another physicians' organization told the Funke media group that he thinks the decision has to be a personal one.

At the moment, masks are only required in public transportation, at doctor's offices and hospitals and in care homes.