Thuringian cities demand: "Immediately abolish compulsory attendance at schools"

In a joint resolution, the mayors of Erfurt, Jena, Gera, Weimar, Suhl and Eisenach demand that the state of Thuringia immediately abolish compulsory attendance at Thuringian schools. This should be decided depending on the incidence, but should apply at least from an incidence of over 1,000.

The demand is based on the 7-day incidence rates of children and young people. According to figures from the Robert Koch Institute, the incidence for 5 to 14-year-old children in Thuringia is over 2,400 and rising.

Andreas Bausewein, Lord Mayor of Erfurt: "People will not miss out on family celebrations under the Christmas tree at Christmas. This means that the risk of infection is very high. To reduce this for parents and grandparents, children should not meet their classmates in the days leading up to Christmas. That's why I'm in favor of suspending compulsory attendance. We have reached a point in the pandemic where everything can no longer continue as before. We are facing a total overload of our medical system. It is now important to minimize contacts. Every possibility of infection must be prevented if possible."

Dr. Thomas Nitzsche, Lord Mayor of Jena: "The pandemic is currently a pandemic of the unvaccinated. And, of course, it is also a pandemic of children and young people in particular, because nowhere else are so many people coming together for whom there are not yet enough vaccinations available. Childhood vaccinations are starting now, but it will take some time for the effects to become visible. For this reason, we now need a safety buffer at schools and the opportunity to protect children and their parents from further infections by suspending compulsory attendance."

Julian Vonarb, Lord Mayor of Gera: