Giffey is demanding clear regulations from the federal government for prioritizing PCR tests
Laboratories overloaded by Omicron
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Giffey demands from the federal government a clear regulation for PCR prioritization
The omicron wave and the many PCR tests threaten to overload the laboratories. Berlin is at 92 percent capacity and sees an urgent need for action. The federal government should clearly prioritize who should still use the PCR capacities.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) is calling for a clear regulation from the federal government to reserve PCR capacities in the laboratories in the omicron wave, above all for people who work with vulnerable groups – such as nursing staff or paramedics. A corresponding prioritization is necessary, because security is particularly important here, she said on Tuesday at the Senate press conference.
“Bottlenecks not controllable”
The capacities of the PCR tests have recently been expanded. Compared to December, such tests have tripled at state test centers and quadrupled at private providers. But this increase is finite. “There are bottlenecks in the background that we can’t control,” emphasized Giffey. It is clear that Berlin does not have enough PCR tests available according to the current procedures. This is one of the reasons why it is already the national strategy that you can also test yourself with a rapid test.
A prioritization for people who work with vulnerable groups would have to be organized by the federal government, said Giffey, referring to the next prime ministerial conference next Monday. It also needs clarification that, for example, a rapid test is also recognized by the employer, according to Giffey.
The health ministers of the federal states will discuss this beforehand, probably on Saturday. As a spokeswoman for the Berlin Senate Health Administration told rbb on Tuesday, the Conference of Health Ministers would not have made such a decision on Monday due to time constraints. According to spokeswoman Laura Hofmann, the request was postponed to the next meeting on Saturday due to the long agenda.
Berlin application could not be discussed
The debate about prioritization was initiated by Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD). He had said on Friday that PCR tests should also be used for health care workers and nursing homes in the future. He caused this prioritization. The background is the increasing bottlenecks in the laboratories due to the sharp increase in demand for PCR tests in the midst of the current omicron wave.
Lauterbach will enable free testing using a quick test
According to the will of the Federal Minister of Health, people who no longer die under the prioritization should only be able to test themselves free of charge via rapid tests. Lauterbach emphasized on Tuesday on Deutschlandfunk that rapid antigen tests are less reliable at the beginning of an infection, but work very well “if you want to go back”.
Laboratories in Berlin are already close to 100 percent capacity
According to the association of accredited medical laboratories in Germany (ALM), almost two million PCR tests were carried out in Germany last week. This is an increase of 40 percent compared to the week before, and the trend is still rising, the ALM said.
Although the test capacities have been increased, they are now reaching the limit, it said. Nationwide, occupancy is already at 86 percent. In Berlin they are even 92 percent. In Brandenburg, on the other hand, things are looking even better at just over 50 percent, but that can change daily.
The ALM is now also calling for an immediate prioritization of the PCR tests. It was also said that PCR tests for vacations or to attend an event should be postponed. The prioritization is now necessary in order to be able to continue to test vulnerable groups sensibly and also to be able to maintain normal laboratory operations – i.e. everything that has nothing to do with Corona.
Berlin and Brandenburg want to wait for decisions
According to the Senate and the Brandenburg Ministry of Health, there is currently no prioritization of PCR tests in Berlin and Brandenburg.
If necessary, the national test strategy will be used, a spokesman for the Brandenburg Ministry told rbb on Tuesday. Berlin will also only be advised after the decisions in the federal government as to whether there will be a weighting in the tests.
Show: evening show, January 18, 2022, 7:30 p.m