Sounds similar, but it's not the same: quick test and self-test are two different applications.
We explain the difference in the corona test procedure.
Munich / Berlin - While the federal government is promoting free rapid test procedures for all citizens, discounters, drugstores and co. Are already including self-tests in their offerings.
This is also not going smoothly so far - Aldi and Lidl had problems on the first day of the sensational range expansion because either the capacities were out of stock or the website collapsed.
The double test "offensive" is an important step in the fight to further contain the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic in Germany - at least that is the hope of the federal and state governments.
Important: Corona rapid tests and self-tests are not the same.
There is a valid reason why the two terms haunt the information landscape in parallel:
Corona quick test or self-test: a small but subtle difference
In the near future, it should be possible for every citizen to use
rapid tests
free of charge once a week.
The starting point for this are medical practices, test centers and pharmacies, according to the ambitious plan of the federal government, which could not be implemented at least on March 8, the start of the new Corona opening strategy.
In a corona rapid test, trained staff take a swab from the throat or nose of the person to be tested.
The saliva sample comes on a strip, which reacts with a discoloration within a period of 15 to 20 minutes.
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Young woman with thermometer: Sars-CoV-2 is (unfortunately) not that easy to detect.
© manae / imago-images
Corona self-test: No trained person at work - only removal through the nose
Self-tests
work in a similar way to the rapid
tests
.
The difference: With this procedure, the smear is not carried out by a trained person; instead, the corona test is carried out yourself.
There is also another difference: the sample only needs to be taken from the front of the nose at home.
In addition, this type of test has so far only been approved for the nose area, but not for the throat.
Self-tests should create more security in everyday situations, especially with regard to contact with groups of people with a weak immune system.
Of course, it is essential to observe the enclosed instructions for use.
In the medium term, a gargle and spit test to detect Sars-CoV-2 viruses are to be added as further test options.
However, what a quick test and a self-test have in common: A positive test result must then be checked with a PCR test.
Meanwhile, at the start of the quick test campaign in Bavaria, there is pure chaos.
(PF)
List of rubric lists: © manae / imago-images