Germany’s health minister urges voluntary use of face masks

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister has urged residents to wear face masks indoors to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist by training, said Germany was experiencing an expected increase in cases that amounted to a “summer wave.” He said on Friday that “voluntarily wearing masks needs to be a normality indoors” but acknowledged that current data doesn’t justify a legal requirement. An indoor mask mandate largely lapsed across Germany this spring, with the requirement remaining for places such as hospitals and care homes. The country has recently reported between 50 and 130 coronavirus-related deaths a day.