Half of Germans want to continue wearing masks after the pandemic

Although many coronavirus restrictions are gradually being dismantled, the wearing of masks looks set to stay for a while longer. According to a new survey, almost half of people in Germany plan to continue wearing face coverings after the pandemic. 

44,7 percent of Germans want to continue to wear masks

The representative survey, conducted by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, found that 44,7 percent of those questioned were in favour of continuing to wear masks in future. 

On the other hand, 41,9 percent said they wanted to permanently stop covering their mouth and nose while out in public. The remainder of respondents said they weren’t yet sure. The survey involved 5.020 people, who were questioned between May 28 and June 1 this year. 

Data from the past year shows that measures such as wearing a mask, keeping your distance, and frequently washing your hands have contributed to the decline of other infectious diseases transmitted by droplets, as well as coronavirus. 

For instance, last year saw cases of norovirus drop by almost two-thirds, compared to 2019. At the same time, there was pretty much no flu season in 2020 / 2021. Both of these trends have been attributed to the coronavirus measures. 

AfD and FDP voters less keen on masks

The survey found that a person’s willingness to wear a mask was closely related to the political party they are affiliated with. For instance, supporters of the far-right AfD and pro-business FDP parties want largely to do without masks after the pandemic. Eight out of 10 AfD voters and two thirds of FDP voters indicated their unwillingness to continue to wear face coverings. 

SPD and Green voters, on the other hand, see things differently: a narrow majority of each party’s supporters would willingly get their masks out again when, for instance, flu season is approaching. 

The responses also differed according to age. According to the Civey survey, 54,1 percent of people over the age of 65 were in favour of continuing to wear masks, whereas the majority (50,5 percent) of 18 to 29-year-olds were against the proposal.