“We will offer significantly more than 10,000 employees the opportunity to be tested for Covid-19 as a precautionary measure, especially in larger facilities,” board member Tobias Meyer told the Rheinische Post.

The tests will be carried out systematically by occupational doctors in selected, mainly larger, operating facilities according to a risk classification. 

Along with supermarket or pharmacy employees, package deliverers have been among Germany's frontline workers in the corona crisis – dealing with an increased demand due to shops being closed and more people staying home.

Meyer announced that the company was taking the path of a “prophylactic test strategy,” or a preventative measure.

According to Meyer, employees have been tested for Covid-19 in the past, regardless of if they thought they had been infected. 

“The striking thing was that in the broad tests…we found an unexpectedly high number of infected people, but who have so far shown no symptoms of the disease,” he said. 

As a result, Deutsche Post must assume that it has more coronavirus-infected people around its premises than previously suspected, he said.

According to Meyer, Deutsche Post's company doctors will probably offer the tests in some of the 36 parcel centres and possibly also in letter distribution centres. 

The company had first tested around 4,000 employees in Germany after an infection with the coronavirus had occurred in their direct vicinity. 

The firm announced that it would pay for the tests, calculating at least €130 per test.

Germany currently has a widespread coronavirus testing strategy, carrying out around 900,000 tests a week.

The country has confirmed over 180,000 coronavirus cases as of Tuesday morning, although over 160,000 have reported themselves to have recovered. There have also been over 8,300 deaths from the virus.

READ ALSO: Germany coronavirus testing capacity increases to 900,000 a week

Vocabulary

Operating facilities – (die) Betriebsstätten

Risk classification – (die) Risikoeinstufung 

Striking – auffällig

In the vicinity – im Umkreis

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