Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

COVID-19

Germany considers restricting PCR tests for Covid over high demand

With demand for Covid tests soaring in Germany in the Omicron wave, health ministers are considering limiting the availability of PCR tests.

Published: 18 January 2022 10:15 CET
People queue for a PCR test in Berlin on January 10th.
People queue for a PCR test in Berlin on January 10th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Monika Skolimowska

Queues for free PCR tests in Covid hotspots – like the capital Berlin – have become commonplace in recent weeks. 

As the number of infections continues to increase in Germany amid the Omicron wave, laboratories are also struggling to process the number of tests. 

Now the federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, and his counterparts across the states, are considering changing the testing strategy.

Under proposals, only people with Covid-19 symptoms and vulnerable groups would generally be allowed to take a PCR test. There would likely be exceptions for medical staff. 

Currently, people are encouraged to take a PCR test if they test positive for Covid with an antigen test or receive a red warning on their Covid warning app which means they’ve come into contact with an infected person.

READ ALSO: Germany’s weekly Covid incidence rate rises above 500

Ahead of a meeting with health ministers on Monday, a draft proposal said that PCR tests are to be limited in future to “symptomatic persons and, if necessary, vulnerable groups”.

The proposal was submitted by Berlin, where demand for PCR tests is outstripping supply. 

According to the motion, a PCR test could be waived as confirmation for people with a symptom-free Covid infection after a positive rapid test. Even if the Corona warning app is red, only a rapid test may be needed in future. 

A test to end quarantine or isolation would be carried out “exclusively” with a “high-quality and, if necessary, laboratory-based antigen test” under the plans. 

PCR tests would be reserved for people with symptoms, vulnerable groups and employees in critical infrastructure such as in nursing homes and hospitals.

No decision on the testing strategy was made on Monday by health ministers, and it will be discussed again this week. 

It comes after federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Friday that free PCR testing for employees from the medical sector would be prioritised with immediate effect.

He said this was to ensure that employees can get a PCR test “when capacities are exhausted or overloaded”.

Germany on Tuesday saw 74,405 Covid infections within the latest 24 hour period, and 193 deaths. The 7-day incidence rose to 553.2 infections per 100,000 people. 

What else did health ministers talk about?

In the meeting on Monday, health ministers agreed that they want to see the law extended to allow doctors to grant sick leave for respiratory tract infections, like the common cold or Covid-19, by telephone. 

Usually people in Germany have to visit a doctor’s office in person to get a sick note that they can then submit to their employers if they need time off due to illness. 

The special regulation for issuing incapacity to work certificates via a telephone consultation was first introduced at the start of the pandemic and has been extended regularly.  

Doctors need this support “so that they are not overrun by patients”, said Saxony-Anhalt’s health minister Petra Grimm-Benne after the consultations. The SPD politician is currently chairwoman of the so-called Conference of Health Ministers.

READ ALSO: The 10 rules you need to know if you get sick in Germany

Member comments

  1. Why don’t we only test the sick? Surely that would protect supply.
    When I was growing up, asymptomatic was called not sick.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

SHOW COMMENTS