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Seehofer says the medical president’s statements are “inexplicable” – he finished back
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“As long as it is remote in the open air, I think it is superfluous to wear a mask”
Dr. Klaus Reinhardt, president of the German Medical Association, said in an interview with WELT on October 9 that we could not prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the population. He thinks a mask is superfluous.
What good is a daily mask? Little, said the president of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt. Interior Minister Seehofer and medical representatives did not show understanding for the statements. Reinhardt is now rowing.
WITHTwo days after I questioned the usefulness of everyday masks (editor’s note: unfiltered cloth and surgical masks) in fighting the pandemic, the president of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, was rowing back. “Current evidence from various studies speaks in favor of protecting the mouth and nose,” he announced Friday. His statements caused him considerable irritation, which he very much regrets.
Reinhardt said on the ZDF talk show “Markus Lanz” Wednesday night that he was not convinced by everyday masks, “because there is no real scientific evidence that they are really useful. Especially not in self-protection and probably very little in protection against infection from others ”. He reversed that on Friday: “Studies indicate that both transmission to others and self-infection through everyday masks are reduced,” he said, according to the statement.
After his appearance on the talk show, critical voices of Reinhardt’s statement increased. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer did not show understanding for the statements of the President of the Medical Association. The statements “of the highest level of the medical profession” are inexplicable to him. “That’s almost shocking,” Seehofer said Friday on the sidelines of collective bargaining for the public service. He is happy that everyone is wearing a mask. “The population is sometimes even more informed and insightful than some professional officials.”
The day before, the SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach had the statements in a cheep described as “inexcusable” for the “highest ranking German medical officer”. “In my opinion, a reason to resign if you do not withdraw it immediately,” he wrote.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recommends the use of everyday masks in certain situations as a component to protect groups at risk and reduce the speed of spread.
Reinhardt said he believed mouth and nose protection could be worn where distance could not be maintained, such as on local public transportation or in rooms where they were necessarily close together. This helps protect others by reducing the spread of aerosols. When it came to using them outdoors, he said, “I think it will be of little use.” In some places, the mask requirement was also made on busy public streets and places where there is not enough space for everyone to keep their distance.
“The masks protect everyone and others”
Reinhardt’s remarks also drew criticism from other professional representatives. “Both everyday masks and surgical masks protect everyone and everyone else,” Marburger Bund Physicians Union President Susanne Johna said Friday at Norddeutscher Rundfunk. The rules for this are important. The same applies to decency, ventilation and hand hygiene.
The director of the Bavarian Medical Association, Gerald Quitterer, called Reinhardt’s statements “not happy.” They thwarted efforts to convince patients of the meaning of mouth and nose protection, he told “Münchner Merkur” on Friday. He himself wears a mask outside of his daily practice because the measure is “contagiously useful.” Coronavirus sprays don’t fly that far through the air with a mask.
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