The summer holidays are gradually ending in the German federal states. This marks the beginning of a new delicate phase for crisis management in times of the pandemic, because: Millions of German citizens did not spend their days off at home, but abroad.
Therefore, Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) wants to introduce a mandatory test in the future for vacationers returning from certain risk areas. This is to prevent tourists from bringing the virus with them from areas with a particularly high risk of corona and from spreading new sources of infection across Germany again. However, there are still many open questions.
What exactly is planned?
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn announced a general test requirement for travelers from high-risk areas. The corresponding order is expected to enter into force next week. The politician did not yet give an exact date on Monday in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”: “We have first drafts,” said the CDU politician. "We also want to coordinate this well with the countries, because it has to be practiced locally at airports, for example, or at train stations. And that's why I think it's important to do it well. ”
Spahn emphasized that up to now all travelers from high-risk areas have been obliged to quarantine for two weeks. "What is to be added is a mandatory test, either before departure or after entering Germany within 72 hours to his health department or to the authority that requests him to do so. He has to prove that he has taken a test and that he has tested negative or is positive in quarantine. ”
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) maintains a list of what constitutes a risk area. In the most recent version, it ranges from Afghanistan and Egypt via the USA to the Central African Republic. The EU country Luxembourg is also on it.
Is such a duty legally possible at all?
Yes, experts say. "Anyone who travels to high-risk areas must expect that a test might be required afterwards," says legal scientist Thorsten Kingreen from the University of Regensburg. Such an interference with the right to physical integrity is reasonable and constitutionally legitimate.
The lawyer Sebastian Kluckert from the University of Wuppertal also considers this to be legitimate. The Federal Ministry of Health refers to paragraph 5 of the Infection Protection Act, which was recently amended for exceptional situations such as Corona. According to this, the federal government can make a medical examination compulsory for those arriving from risky areas – only to determine and prevent the introduction of a threatening communicable disease.
What happens if I refuse?
According to the GdP police union, compulsory corona tests for return travelers could be enforced by the police as a last resort. "In the end, we have to enforce law and ultimately also with coercion," said Jörg Radek, vice-chief of the police union (GdP), the editorial network in Germany. "If the administrative order for the corona test obligation is to be enforced by force, it is the job of the police." The decision must be made at the state level.
The unionist called on travelers to cooperate. "The obligation to test requires a high level of understanding from the population, because such a test is an intervention in physical integrity," said Radek. “Basically, you have to weigh up the physical integrity of the individual and the interests of society. Here we have a case that we haven't had in social interaction. ”He expects to be willing to do voluntary corona tests, Radek emphasized.
What do tests generally bring?
In a corona virus test, trained personnel take a smear from the mouth, nose or throat. But that only provides a snapshot – you can get infected right afterwards. The CDU health expert Karin Maag asked in the SWR: "For me, such a test, which is supposed to end a quarantine, must be repeated after the incubation period of five to seven days." Otherwise there would be no absolute certainty.
Patrick Larscheid, who is responsible for the Berlin-Tegel Airport as a medical officer, recently warned with regard to airport tests: "This test does not create security." He complained: "It is not certain that the time window of the Infection is detected. "
Who would pay the mandatory tests?
The travelers should not be charged for the compulsory tests. On Monday in front of Spahn's announcement, chancellor-in-chief Helge Braun argued on rbb-Inforadio: "If the state orders something, then it cannot do so at the expense of the other person." The exact counter-financing is yet to be determined – other corona tests are paid by the statutory health insurance companies , the federal government has announced grants.
There has already been criticism of the assumption of costs. The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) wants to bill those affected by the costs. Christian Lindner, head of the FDP, also said: "Anyone who voluntarily goes to a risk area as a tourist will have to accept that they also pay for this test."
How many people would be affected?
Difficult to say, but it should only concern a rather small part of all foreign tourists. Because if you travel to a country despite Corona that the RKI classifies as a risk area due to the high number of cases, you have to quarantine 14 days when you return. Unless he has a negative test. And holiday strongholds like Italy or Austria are currently not on the list – but this can change.
What's next?
Since last week, returnees from high-risk areas have been voluntarily tested at several German airports. In the future there will be test stations at all German airports. Bavaria also set up voluntary test stations at the motorway border crossings to Austria and at Munich and Nuremberg main stations. Last weekend over 10,000 people were tested there.
In general, the need for tests does not depend on the route of entry, explained Chancellor Braun, but on where you come from. Since the risk list mainly includes countries outside Europe, the focus of the compulsory tests should also focus primarily on airports.
General practitioners association criticizes compulsory testing: "Like a bad joke"
However, organizational questions remain unanswered. The German General Practitioners Association criticized the feasibility of the return tests massively. Because the implementation of the obligation not only provides for test stations at airports or train stations, but also affects general practice. For example, when vacationers were traveling by car or camper. "I think those responsible are not aware of the effort involved in testing in practice," said Federal Chairman Ulrich Weigeldt.
"Here is an example: Monday morning the phone rings – in the best case – on the phone, Mr. Schmidt; in the worst case, he and the whole family are suddenly in the middle of the waiting room, where other patients are already waiting. You have been back from vacation since Friday and now time is running out, because the 72 hours to be tested end in the afternoon. What can the family doctor do now? In the best case scenario, he can still get the patient somewhere, although he must of course take great care to keep the risk of infection for the other patients as low as possible. Then it is time to put on protective equipment, take a smear and have a conversation about hygiene measures, the validity of the tests and their consequences. Then ventilate and disinfect the rooms. "
If you look at this entire treatment complex, the 15 euros that general practitioners should get for the smear looked "like a bad joke". "This is a disdain for what our colleagues have to do here," criticizes Weigeldt. "Apart from that, it is unclear whether the general practitioners have the resources to do this and whether they can be obliged to make the cutbacks via the ordinance."