This came up on N-TV today, and centers only on Bavaria (not the other 15 states).
The regulation going into effect....says that while riding any public transportation (bus or train) or entering any shop....you have to wear the FFP2 masks (the heavier grade mask, with the filter). The regular paper-type mask (surgical type)? It's finally deemed by the Bavarian government as not sufficient enough.
This would start on Monday.
The argument here? No one has made this argument in a serious way....up until today.
Cost factor? Right now, you can walk into any pharmacy in Germany....once a week....show your passport/ID, and get two free masks (per person). Reusing this day after day? You get varying instructions from different groups. Some recommend that a full day of use (suggesting 12 hours) is max. Some suggest if you aren't using it in a full-use situation....you might get five days of use out of it.
How many Germans use the paper mask versus cloth-type versus the FFP2 type? I would suggest (just by walking around a grocery-store) that about one-third of Germans currently use the FFP2 type. Maybe near fifty-percent of Germans go to the cloth-type (washing it at the conclusion of a 8-hour day). Remaining 20-percent are the paper mask people.
This fear of the paper mask situation? This goes to the medical establishment doing a study and finding various people who use the paper mask......over and over. They keep one in the car, and make a two-stop run of grocery-stores wearing the same mask. Then they put the mask back into the glove-box and repeat it two days later. They will admit that they've probably worn it 40 days now....over and over. The medical establishment says this is bad....the fibers on the interior are getting loose, and you breathe those in.
The slam on the FP2 masks? I would suggest (having worn one for 90 minutes one day)....they require around 20-percent more effort on breathing. They are more protective (I agree on that angle). If you asked me to wear one for 8 hours of office work....it'd be a fairly big pain.
So to the final topic out of Bavaria....around two months ago, they openly discussed mandatory testing of commuters. They didn't really reach a point where they'd say it was railway versus bus folks. They were simply told this testing business was hindered by a law in place (probably a Bavarian law, and not a German federal law).
Well...somehow, the law hindering this process was undone. So they've gone back to Covid-19 quick-testing and a discussion.
How this would work? Unknown. Cost? Probably attached to the Bavarian government. How much of a pain would this be for 200 passengers on a train (some on it for just 20 minutes, and others for 90 minutes)? Who would be standing there to audit people (you'd probably have to quick-hire at least 500 test-audit people just as a minimum around the state).
No other state has engaged on this topic and it probably would halt half of the state population from railway/bus travel because of the mandatory nature of this.
Finally, how reliable is the quick-test Covid-deal? They generally differ, but the general results range from 80-to-97 percent. So you could be standing there at a station at 7 AM....needing to reach your job 50 km away, and the quick-test says you are positive....meaning they won't allow you on the train. So you call your doctor and he gives you a digital slip for the real-test....four hours later. By 9 PM, you get the results back....negative. So that day was shot completely....by the quick-test failure. Go measure that by 500 potential failures each day around the state.
Just things to ponder.
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