The latest decisions by the federal government together with the prime ministers of the federal states could have devastating consequences for the Corona warning app.
Instead of PCR tests, most citizens will only have rapid tests in the future. The federal and state governments have now decided this – and thus possibly heralded the end of the Corona warning app.
On January 24, 2022, it was that time again: The federal government met with the prime ministers of the federal states to analyze the local infection situation and adjust measures accordingly. After all, the situation is changing from day to day – recently in a direction that very few citizens are likely to like: the number of infections is increasing tirelessly. Nevertheless, politicians decided not to tighten the current measures. Instead, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to wait and see and only stay on course for the time being. On the other hand, there are more far-reaching decisions regarding the local test strategy: Here the federal government and the prime ministers agreed to prioritize PCR tests in the future and thus relieve the burden on the laboratories, which have been revised in many places. A measure that could bring another construction site to light.
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New decision: PCR tests no longer for everyone
So far, all citizens who received a red warning in the federal Corona-Warn-App were entitled to a free PCR test. In the future, only particularly vulnerable groups and the staff who look after them – for example in hospitals or care facilities – should receive it. Everyone else only gets a free rapid antigen test. This can also be used to detect an infection, but they are much less precise. The biggest problem, however, is that the positive results from the quick tests cannot always be stored in the Corona-Warn-App. Since May 2021, it has been possible to warn others about a positive quick test. For this, however, the test center carrying out the test must be registered as a partner of the Corona-Warn-App. Only then can the result be inserted into the federal application.
Corona warning app (Android app)
Corona warning app (app for iPhone & iPad)
Dramatic consequences for the Corona warning app
A circumstance that should significantly reduce the effectiveness of the Corona-Warn-App. After all, users share positive rapid tests significantly less frequently than positive PCR results, as a look at the dashboard of the Corona-Warn-App shows: In the period from January 17th to 24th, 2022, users uploaded a total of 1.5 million negative and around one million positive PCR test results. The situation is very different with the rapid tests: there were 5.6 million negative tests in the same period, but just 109,000 positive results. The result: In the future, significantly fewer people will receive a warning in the Corona-Warn-App, unless all quick tests can be inserted.
