Covid-19
Prioritization of PCR tests is approaching
PCR tests are analyzed in a laboratory. Photo: Waltraud Grubitzsch/dpa
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Because of the high number of corona infections and many tests, laboratories are reporting capacity problems. Politicians only want to grant PCR tests to certain groups. The new rules could soon come into force.
The planned prioritization of PCR tests is getting closer. Corresponding changes to the Corona Test Ordinance are in the last votes between the federal and state governments, as the German Press Agency learned on Friday.
A draft sent by the Federal Ministry of Health to the federal states and associations provides, as planned, that in future laboratories should primarily examine samples from risk groups, employees in clinics, practices, in nursing and in facilities and services that provide integration assistance for people with disabilities.
Anyone who belongs to a risk group or to the employee groups mentioned will probably have to prove this with a medical certificate or an employee certificate. This should then be noted accordingly during the test so that the laboratory examines the sample as a priority. Other groups of people would not be excluded from PCR tests, but it could be that they have to wait longer for their results due to the prioritization.
At least temporarily, the entitlement to a PCR confirmation test after a positive rapid corona test should no longer apply for the majority of people. “A regular confirmatory PCR test” will “first be suspended”, says the draft. According to the currently valid regulation, this right exists after a positive self-test or quick test at a test station. According to the plans, however, it should be able to be put back into force at any time if the Ministry of Health makes a recommendation for it on its website.
The ordinance does not regulate the issue of proof of convalescence, for which a positive PCR test has previously been required. A cover letter attached to the draft states that the federal government is striving for a timely agreement with the federal states on the subject.