The Federal Association of Senior Citizens' Organizations (Bagso) has renewed its call for the abolition of mandatory masks and tests in nursing homes.

After the protective measures in almost all public areas had been lifted in the meantime, interferences into the right of self-determination of inhabitants of nursing homes were disproportionate, explained the federation on Monday in Bonn.

Justifying the measures with the protection of a vulnerable group is no longer possible in view of the high level of corona immunization, even among the elderly, they said.

Residents of nursing homes have had to accept a drastic decline in social contacts and leisure activities over the past three years. New hurdles are now emerging because fewer and fewer testing opportunities are being offered, it added. Ending the protective measures was therefore "not only justifiable, but also imperative," Bagso stressed.

Last October, the association had already criticized the introduction of mandatory FFP2 masks for residents in inpatient care facilities as a massive encroachment on the quality of life of the people concerned.

Image by Leo from Pixabay