Corona test compulsory for returnees

Florian Tiefenböck studied human medicine at the LMU Munich. In March 2014, he joined as a student and has supported the editorial team with medical articles ever since. After receiving his medical license and practical work in internal medicine at the University Hospital Augsburg, he has been a permanent member of the team since December 2019 and, among other things, ensures the medical quality of the tools.

More posts by Florian Tiefenböck All content is checked by medical journalists.

Most of all, when on vacation, many want summer and sunshine. However, anyone who travels to areas with particularly high numbers of corona cases should not be able to simply ignore the pandemic - and be tested on their return.

Despite Corona, millions of German citizens have packed their bags again - and will be back in the near future. A new delicate phase is beginning for crisis management in times of the pandemic: How can you prevent tourists from bringing the virus with them from areas with a particularly high corona risk and spreading new sources of infection across Germany? It was like this once before with returnees from ski areas in the Alps.

What exactly is planned?

Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn announced on Monday that a general test would be mandatory for people arriving from risk areas. The corresponding order is expected to come into force in the coming week. "This serves to protect all citizens," said the CDU politician of the German Press Agency. "We have to prevent those returning from traveling unnoticed infecting others and thus triggering new chains of infection."

You can find out which countries are considered risk areas according to the Robert Koch Institute here.

Is the mandatory test legally possible?

Yes, say experts. "Anyone who travels to risk areas must expect a test to come afterwards," says legal scholar Thorsten Kingreen from the University of Regensburg. Such an encroachment on 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 Section 5 of the Infection Protection Act, which was recently changed for exceptional situations such as Corona. According to this, the federal government can make a medical examination compulsory for people entering from risk areas - exclusively to determine and prevent the introduction of a threatening communicable disease.

What are the main benefits of tests?

During a coronavirus test, trained personnel take a swab from the mouth, nose or throat. But that only provides a snapshot - you can get infected immediately afterwards. The CDU health expert Karin Maag demanded 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 is no absolute certainty. Patrick Larscheid, who is the medical officer responsible for Berlin-Tegel Airport, recently warned with a view to airport tests: “This test does not manage to establish safety. It is not certain that the time window of the infection will be recorded in this way. "

Who would pay for the compulsory tests?

The travelers should not cost anything for the compulsory tests. The test costs shouldn't be a question of the wallet or a social question, said Spahn in the ARD Tagesthemen (Monday). The exact counter-financing is still to be determined - other corona tests are paid by the statutory health insurance companies, but the federal government has announced subsidies.

However, there has been criticism of assuming the costs. The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) wants to bill those affected for the costs. FDP leader Christian Lindner also said: "Anyone who voluntarily goes to a risk area as a tourist will have to accept that they will also pay for this test."

How many people would be affected?

Difficult to say, but it should only be about a rather small part of all foreign holidaymakers. Because anyone who, despite Corona, travels to a country that the RKI classifies as a risk area due to the high number of cases, has to be in quarantine for 14 days upon return. Unless they test negative. And holiday strongholds such as Italy, Spain or Austria are currently not on the list - but that can change.

The SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach demanded on the news portal “watson.de” that every person returning from vacation should be tested. “The distinction between risk countries and non-risk countries is artificial and pointless. It depends more on the behavior of the people at the holiday destination. ”And that was not always exemplary, as seen on Mallorca, for example.

Where is testing carried out?

Since the weekend, returnees from risk areas have been able to have themselves tested voluntarily at several German airports. Since the risk list mainly includes countries outside Europe, the focus of the compulsory tests should also be directed primarily at airports. Organizational questions are still open. According to Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), Bavaria also wants to set up voluntary test stations at motorway border crossings to Austria - as well as at the main train stations in Munich and Nuremberg. In general, the need for tests does not depend on the route of entry, explained Chancellery chief Braun - but on where you come from. (ft / dpa)

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