Saturday, March 6th, 2021
"Countries can't do it"
Spahn annoyed at task force meetings
Together with Andreas Scheuer, Jens Spahn should come to an understanding with sales representatives about the rapid test logistics. The Minister of Health does not seem particularly motivated. When asked about the test acquisition, his collar bursts.
Mismanagement when buying masks, the sluggish vaccination campaign, the donation dinner despite the corona infection, possible involvement in the corruption affair surrounding Georg Nüßlein – Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn is under pressure. Recently traded as a beacon of hope for the CDU, he now has to deal with demands for resignation. Now the next adversity looms: The free quick tests are unlikely to be available nationwide from next Monday, as announced. How bare the nerves are now at Spahn, became clear in a video conference of the newly created "Taskforce Test Logistics", about which the "Bild" newspaper reported.
Spahn should have agreed on Thursday afternoon with the CEOs of the largest German supermarket and drugstore chains about how corona tests can be brought to schools, daycare centers and authorities, writes the "Bild" newspaper. Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer was also invited. The company bosses had offered to make their logistics centers available and to take over the distribution – the federal government only had to procure the tests centrally.
But the health minister saw it differently: "I honestly don't understand at all why I, as Federal Health Minister, have to deal with the issue," the newspaper quoted from the minutes. The test procurement is ultimately a matter of the country. "I don't know why we should always sort things out for them because the countries somehow can't manage it."
Promises cannot be kept
In fact, buying the tests is not a federal responsibility, it just has to pay for them. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the federal government has signed a framework agreement with manufacturers for 50 million pieces per week to ensure that Germany gets enough tests. States and municipalities have so far accessed around 10 million. There are also tests from an EU contingent.
Nevertheless, there will by no means be free test options across the board on Monday. This is also due to the fact that, after the resolutions at the federal-state conference last Wednesday, the states hardly had enough time to prepare for their tasks. The corresponding ordinance is not yet in force and the country representatives of the rapid test task force were only named on Friday. It is more than unlikely that test structures will be set up nationwide over the weekend.
Spahn may suspect that, as one of the two heads of the task force, more negative headlines await him in the next few days. "I broke my collar in an internal round," said Spahn of the "Bild" newspaper, his disgruntled reaction in the conference. He sounds as if he wants to save himself from the line of fire as a precaution: "Some federal states shirk their responsibility to get corona tests for schools and daycare centers. That is the federal states' own task. But instead of taking them, they point to the federal government. "
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