Germany to end national 'epidemic' situation next month

The German parliament will not extend the “epidemic situation of national scope” when it expires next month, but will keep in place certain measures to check the spread of the coronavirus

BERLIN -- The German parliament will not extend the “epidemic situation of national scope” when it expires next month, but will keep in place certain measures to check the spread of the coronavirus, lawmakers said on Wednesday.

Leading members of the country's parliament, or Bundestag, said that although coronavirus infections have been rising again recently, they did not see the need to prolong the “epidemic situation” which it was first declared in March 2020 and has been repeatedly extended since then. They said that the situation had fundamentally changed due to the fact that about two-thirds of the population had been vaccinated against the virus.

The health emergency situation declaration had enabled federal and state governments to order key coronavirus measures without the approval of the national and regional parliaments.

“There will no more be school closures, lockdowns or curfews again,” said Dirk Wiese, the deputy head of the center-left Social Democrats parliamentary group. He added that the pandemic still needed to be handled responsibly, but that restrictions on civil rights needed to be eased again.