206 SPD MPs gathered on Wednesday to elect the party’s president. For the official portrait, everyone took off their masks – only Karl Lauterbach, the Social Democratic health politician, did not.
Lauterbach defends his party colleagues. It was a “very short period,” he told Bild. He added that all the MPs were “vaccinated and tested”, so there was no danger.
However, the tabloid, whose reporters were on the site at the time, wrote that the situation “continued for more than 10 minutes”.
“In this case, the fines can reach one million euros” because “the masks are absolutely mandatory in the Bundestag,” the newspaper asserts. There is a fine of up to 5,000 euros for not having a mask.
In an interview with Bild, the Bundestag administration confirmed that a violation of the rules had occurred, because the obligation to wear masks “applies, inter alia, to all traffic areas, including the hall (parliament building) in the Paul Loeb house.” It was there that the widely discussed photo was taken. Originally, it was planned to take place outside, on the Spree, but due to rain, the session was moved indoors.
“While the Bundestag is slack, millions of students are still sitting in their classrooms for hours wearing masks,” Bild comments.
The violation will be investigated by a high-level conference. It is not yet known whether the punishment will be imposed, and if so, what – writes “Bild”.
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