Giffey justified the Senate's action, among other things, by stating that no other federal state wanted to tighten the mask requirement at the moment - not even the neighbouring state of Brandenburg. This had become well known at the Minister Presidents' Conference at the end of last week. The health ministers of the federal states, on the other hand, had agreed on Monday to work out criteria as a basis for measures such as compulsory masks. After all, any obligation is a restriction of civil liberties that must be well justified. An extension of the mask requirement in Berlin on its own could be "prone to legal action", Giffey said.