"Abolish the obligation to isolate" - the great quarantine fear of the German economy

It's only just beginning, the next Corona fall wave. But the many infected people are already causing problems for the companies. Because many employees are in quarantine instead of in the company.

"The fears we expressed in the summer about the development of the corona virus are now coming true," says Iris Plöger, member of the executive board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI). In fact, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), around 1.5 million people in Germany are currently actively infected with the corona virus - and are therefore forced into quarantine. Among them are likely to be numerous people whose infection is asymptomatic.

The economy is therefore now demanding more flexible rules for isolation requirements. For example, the Federal Guild Association of the building cleaning trade advocates that the insulation requirements can be interpreted “pragmatically, with a sense of proportion and individually”. And no more blanket measures created.

"Why shouldn't a symptom-free infected glass cleaner, who feels good and wants to work, not be allowed to work outdoors?" asks Managing Director Wolfgang Molitor. In his opinion, Corona should not per se mean that people are not allowed to work for a week or two.

The BDI is also calling for more leeway for companies. "The economy depends on flexible quarantine regulations so that staff shortages can be intercepted," says Plöger. For employees in quarantine who are not ill, at least practicable regulations for working from home should be created. A national pandemic plan is crucial for the coming months.

“The federal and state governments must agree on common standards. Clear, implementable measures and legal certainty without federal bureaucratic chaos are necessary for companies and citizens," says Plöger. From the point of view of the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH), the first thing to do is to wait and see how the infection develops. However, with their hygiene concepts, the companies in the trade would ensure that the workplace is a comparatively safe place.

However, the concerns of the companies are great: "Against the background that the shortage of staff is the greatest challenge for our companies anyway, we can only hope that there will not be an acute pandemic wave," says Molitor from the Building Cleaners Association, the employer with represents a total of 700,000 employees.

The feedback from the companies made it clear, however, that the sickness rates for this time of the year had already increased significantly. And industry is also complaining: "In addition to the burdens caused by supply bottlenecks, massively rising energy prices and inflation, there are now high staff shortages due to the epidemic situation," says Plöger from the BDI.

In the meantime, politicians are also questioning the applicable rules on isolation. "In view of the increasing staff shortages, I think it is right to abolish the obligation to isolate," says Andrew Ullmann, health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group. Isolation or sick leave should be a medical decision, not a government decision.

It also plays a role which profession is practiced and what danger there is for contacts of the infected person. "It is clear that it is not about all infected people automatically going to work," says Ullmann.

According to the RKI, infected people must be quarantined at home for at least five days, and isolation is “strongly recommended” for all contact persons. In addition, the authority also refers to other respiratory diseases, which are increasing especially now in autumn.

If you have a cough and runny nose or a sore throat, those affected should stay at home for three to five days and avoid contact – regardless of the vaccination status and a rapid corona test result. This is what the authority writes in its latest weekly report on respiratory diseases.

However: The specific quarantine rules are made by the countries. Anyone who tests positive for the corona virus in Berlin, for example, must go into quarantine at home immediately – and stay there for ten days. After this time, the obligation to isolate ends without the need for a new test.

From the fifth day, however, the quarantine can be shortened. The prerequisite is that those affected are symptom-free for at least 48 hours and can show a negative test, according to Berlin.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, on the other hand, the following applies: after a positive self-test, those affected must first take an official control test in a test center - and isolate themselves until the result is obtained. If this test is also positive, infected people can only test free with a negative result on the fifth day of quarantine at the earliest. Healthcare workers must be symptom-free for at least 48 hours before returning to work.

The medical institutions have a completely different view of the applicable quarantine obligations anyway. Here, too, it is observed with concern that the number of sick employees is increasing significantly again, according to the Berlin Charité.

This is precisely why the clinics advocate maintaining the current corona infection protection measures. The concern about increasing deliveries of corona infected people seems too great if the rules are relaxed.

And the Federal Association of German Private Clinics also emphasizes when asked: The rules would serve the safety of patients as well as occupational safety. The quarantine rules should only be adjusted according to scientific criteria, explains a spokeswoman. Instead of discussing quarantine regulations, the association believes that the financing of the clinics should be ensured much more.

And so the demands for abolition in politics are not without controversy. "After two and a half years, we have to learn to live with the virus," says Reinhard Houben, labor policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group. However, that cannot mean that the threat posed by him is no longer taken seriously. After all, the number of infections is currently increasing again.

"I think it would be a mistake to lift the isolation requirement at this stage," says Houben. However, the RKI should examine a reduction in the isolation requirement based on the available scientific data.

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