Sunday, November 7th, 2021
“Correct wrong decision”
Medical Association calls for free tests
There have been no citizen tests for almost a month. The medical president Reinhardt evaluates the end of the free and widely used tests as a political “wrong decision” and calls for a reintroduction. Several virologists see it similarly.
The German Medical Association is calling for a quick return to free rapid tests: The end of the reimbursement of costs for corona citizen tests did not motivate those unwilling to vaccinate, said medical president Klaus Reinhardt to the newspapers of the Funke media group. The federal and state governments should have the courage to correct this wrong decision quickly and consistently. “Especially in the cold season with many indoor leisure activities, we therefore need low-threshold, free test offers again to curb the spread of the virus.” The new regulation must come quickly, if possible with the amendment of the Infection Protection Act in mid-November, demanded Reinhardt.
Virologists have already made similar statements. The virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, who works in Hamburg, advertised a “test offensive” in view of the increasing number of infections in this country and criticized the fact that the free citizen tests were abolished in mid-October. The Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck is also calling for free corona tests to be reintroduced quickly.
Since the virus could also be spread by vaccinated people, the President of the German Medical Association also called for “a functioning and comprehensive test strategy for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated”. In regions with high incidences, for example, for participants in high-risk events such as club visits, a negative rapid test should be an obligatory entry requirement in addition to the 2-G rule.
Reinhardt warned, however, that comprehensive tests are only effective “if the 3-G and 2-G rules are consistently applied and, of course, also checked”. At best, the test result is fed directly into the CovPass app or the warning app. “This would make checking by public order offices and operators of restaurants and other public institutions much easier.”