Berlin (dpa) - With a view to possible further ope

Berlin (dpa) - With a view to possible further openings of the corona lockdown, the Federal Ministry of Health is proposing two free quick tests per week for all citizens.

They should be able to be accepted by trained staff - for example in test centers or practices, but also at other service providers. This emerges from a new discussion paper by the ministry on Monday, which was also forwarded to the federal states. It is available to the German Press Agency.

These options for "citizen tests" are initially to be offered until the end of June; an evaluation is planned for the beginning of June. According to the proposal, the specific start date in March is still open. In order for sufficient test capacities to be created in a short time, the group of bodies to be commissioned should be expanded to include service providers who have already set up test centers at airports, train stations and highways in a short period of time, it says in the paper.

The result of such a rapid test should be given in writing or digitally - also for presentation to authorities after entering from certain risk areas or when visiting nursing homes, for example. This would also be conceivable as a prerequisite for entering certain facilities. If the test result is positive, it should in future be possible to have another sample taken on site in order to check the result with a more precise PCR test.
The ministry calculates a remuneration of up to 6 euros per rapid test plus 12 euros for the test removal and the issuing of a test certificate. This remuneration is necessary to ensure a sufficient number of providers. The federal government should bear the costs. This is estimated to be between 540 million and 810 million euros per month. Based on experience, it is assumed that around 2 to 2.5 percent of the population use such an offer every day.

In addition, corona self-tests should be increasingly used at home, the first of which have now been approved. The ministry mentions a possible application that they could provide more security in a specific situation - in a private context for the person being tested, but also at family gatherings, for example. In terms of a "preventive living environment approach", it would also make sense to offer one or two tests per week for schoolchildren and employees in companies. The tests, including an introduction to proper use, would have to be provided by schools and employers.

Self-tests under "supervision" directly on site by an organizer would also be conceivable. Could this be an alternative to a confirmed rapid test? also serve as a prerequisite for entering restaurants, theaters or cinemas, it says in the paper. Self-tests will soon be available in pharmacies, other stores and online. An inter-ministerial working group of the federal government should also deal with the financial framework. It should also be examined whether self-tests should possibly only cost the citizens "a reasonable personal contribution". Even with self-tests, you should do a PCR laboratory test after a positive result and go to quarantine at home for the time being.