Corona infected people in Baden-Württemberg will no longer have to go into domestic isolation in the future. The state has agreed with Bavaria, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein to lift the general obligation to isolate people who have tested positive, as the Ministry of Health in Stuttgart announced on Friday. Minister Manne Lucha (Greens) said it was time to give people more personal responsibility again. "The following still applies: if you are ill, stay at home. The protection of vulnerable groups will of course continue to be maintained."

According to the information, the countries have agreed on joint recommendations that should come into force "soon". In Baden-Württemberg, this is expected to be the case in the middle of next week, as a spokesman said on Friday.

From the point of view of the countries, a new phase is needed in dealing with the pandemic, it said. We are on the verge of becoming endemic. In their approach, the federal states refer to experiences from neighboring countries such as Austria, where there have been protective measures "replacing isolation" since summer 2022.

Other reasons given are declining numbers of infections, effective vaccination and basic immunity within the population of more than 90 percent. From the point of view of the federal states, this step is also justified by the fact that there are usually no severe courses of the disease and no effective antiviral drugs.