Saxony's health minister is open to a committee of inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic

Saxony's Health Minister Petra Köpping has no reservations about answering questions from the state parliament's committee of inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm not worried about being summoned," the SPD politician told the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper. In her view, however, a commission of inquiry would make more sense. "There we can talk to experts - also in public meetings - and make suggestions for improvement for the future." It is important to clarify what should be done better in the future against the background of the findings at the time. "A committee of inquiry cannot do this," Köpping believes.

In October, the state parliament decided to set up the Corona U Committee in a special session. The AfD parliamentary group had submitted the motion. The fact that BSW MPs also voted in favor led to criticism. The committee wanted to "relentlessly expose the mistakes made by Mr Kretschmer, Ms Köpping and other Saxon decision-makers", said AfD chairman Jörg Urban at the time.

"The balance between health protection and the rights of the individual was often very difficult. We always tried to find a happy medium with the help of our experts," said Köpping in the interview, referring to the decision-making process during the pandemic. She pointed out, for example, that visits to retirement homes were temporarily restricted and playgrounds were closed.