Almost three years after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the mask requirement on buses and trains in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will fall on Thursday. The state has lifted the order to wear a mouth and nose cover for local transport, the federal government at the same time for long-distance transport.

The mask requirement was introduced in 2020 to curb the spread of the corona virus. After the recent winter wave has subsided, the mask requirement will be lifted in many places in these weeks.

Mouth and nose protection must continue to be worn in the northeast in doctor's offices, hospitals and nursing homes. This is done out of consideration for particularly vulnerable people, such as the elderly and the sick, said a spokesman for the Schwerin Ministry of Health.

Another corona protection measure also continues to apply in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the time being: the obligation to isolate after a corona infection. Anyone who has become infected must isolate themselves at home for five days. In order to be able to socialize again, the person concerned must be symptom-free for two days. Employees in medicine and care even need a negative test.

The obligation to isolate should also fall in the foreseeable future, as the ministry spokesman says. Minister of Health Stefanie Drese (SPD) had already brought the date into play at the end of February/beginning of March. However, her spokesman did not comment on the current plans. One is currently in talks with Berlin and Brandenburg about an agreed date, he said. The issue will be discussed in the cabinet next Tuesday.