Pandemic: Lauterbach changes corona isolation rule STERN.de

The voluntary isolation of corona infected people planned for May 1st should not exist after all. This was announced by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on the ZDF program “Markus Lanz”.

“This point, that the infected people isolate themselves and are no longer requested by the health department, I will collect again.” He wants to make that official on Wednesday. A shortened isolation of five days should remain.

After consultations with the federal and state health ministers, the minister announced on Monday that from May 1st, people infected with corona and contact persons would usually only have to be in isolation or quarantine voluntarily and for a short period of time. Infected people should therefore only be “strongly recommended” to isolate themselves for five days and avoid contacts – it should apply accordingly to contact persons of infected people. An order from the health department should be dropped.

Lauterbach said on ZDF that it would have made sense to relieve the health authorities. However, the signal that an infected person decides whether to isolate himself is “so negative, so devastating” that there must be a change at this point. The “symbolic damage”, that Corona is not dangerous, is so devastating that you cannot do this isolation order.

“It stays the same if someone is sick, i.e. has become infected, then the health department orders it further. And if someone is just a contact person and it’s quarantine, then you do it yourself.” You don’t need the health authorities for the quarantine.