People are queuing. But the need is likely to decrease.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Rapid tests should remain free for the time being, despite the opening plans decided by the federal and state governments. This was announced by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on Friday in Berlin. Nothing else is up for debate at this time, Lauterbach said. Anything else would be irresponsible and would lead to a blind flight in the pandemic.
In their decision at the Corona summit on Wednesday, the federal and state governments had called on the federal government to develop a new test regulation by March 31. The background is that by March 20 at the latest, all “profound” corona measures should expire, including the access restrictions in retail and gastronomy. The demand for rapid tests should then drop significantly. Lauterbach left it open whether the free citizen tests should remain in place.
According to the Federal Social Security Office, the offer has so far cost the state more than nine billion euros. Nevertheless, there are voices that advocate citizen tests beyond the spring.
“Quick tests create additional security and can flank easing,” said the health policy spokesman for the Union faction, Tino Sorge (CDU), the Handelsblatt. They would continue to help detect new infections early. Rapid tests should therefore “remain free beyond March so that local protection concepts can be implemented easily.”
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The Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen also advocates holding on to the citizen tests for a while. “In my opinion, the point in time when we can do without all corona measures and citizen tests cannot yet be determined,” he told the Handelsblatt. He thinks nothing of fixing such decisions on the calendar.
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“Only when we see that all key indicators, such as new infections and new admissions to hospitals, are declining significantly can we gradually dispense with further effective corona measures such as citizen tests.” Dahmen now sees the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and that Federal Ministry of Health has an obligation to “improve the data basis and to set objective indicators and limit values for this case.”
In its sixth statement in mid-February, the Federal Government’s Expert Council advocated adjusting the national test strategy in the coming months. The experts cited the “high economic and ecological burden” as the reason. In particular, it should be checked whether tests are limited to symptomatic cases. When asked by the Handelsblatt, however, some federal states pointed out that the tests were primarily needed for health protection in schools and day-care centers.
“Tests remain essential as part of basic care,” says the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care. This is the only way to ensure face-to-face teaching by preventing frequent failures in class groups.
worry about schools
“Bavaria has therefore made it clear that the federal government is responsible for continuing to guarantee the legal possibilities for consistent concepts including mask and test obligations to protect schoolchildren.” There are also voices from Baden-Württemberg, tests for vulnerable groups continue to offer – at least until Easter. And Federal Family Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens) said on Friday: In order to protect students “as best as possible from infection, regular and binding tests must continue.”
The epidemiologist Markus Scholz from the University of Leipzig advocates continuing to offer the rapid tests free of charge, at least in certain areas. “Prophylactic testing in schools should be maintained until the number of cases has dropped significantly,” Scholz told the Handelsblatt.
“That is currently the only, albeit low, protection for families against entries from the massive incidence of infection in schools.” Free tests should also be made possible at work, especially if personal contacts cannot be avoided. In the private sector, however, the tests could be subject to a fee. “There is greater personal responsibility here,” said Scholz. “If you have symptoms, you should always be able to get a free test from your family doctor.”
More: Basic protection rules and compulsory vaccination: Federal-state summit ensures traffic light Zoff.