Europe
Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to US European Command, is latest German state to require masks in stores
Stars and Stripes
April 21, 2020
The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to the Stuttgart Army garrison and the U.S. European and Africa commands, is following Bavaria in requiring masks for entering stores and public transportation. The rule takes effect Monday. (Paul Hughes/U.S. Army)
The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to the Stuttgart Army garrison and the U.S. European and Africa commands, is following Bavaria in requiring masks for entering stores and public transportation. The rule takes effect Monday. (Paul Hughes/U.S. Army)
The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to the Stuttgart Army garrison and the U.S. European and Africa commands, is following Bavaria in requiring masks for entering stores and public transportation. The rule takes effect Monday. (Paul Hughes/U.S. Army)
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription.
Masks will be required when shopping or taking public transportation beginning Monday in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, including its capital city of Stuttgart, which is home to about 28,000 Americans connected to the U.S. military.
The decision, announced Tuesday by state officials, follows similar measures by governments in Bavaria and other parts of Germany. State Minister President Winfried Kretschmann said the reason masks are now mandated is that too few people were following the state’s recommendation that mouth and nose coverings be worn in public.
In Germany, some restrictions have been lifted as the pace of new coronavirus cases in the country begins to slow. On Monday, small businesses were allowed to open provided they maintain hygiene precautions and social distancing.
Military personnel on bases in Stuttgart and elsewhere are already required to wear masks when 6 feet of social distance can’t be maintained. Masks also are generally required for troops in Germany when visiting on-base shops, such as the commissary.