From March 8th there should be free corona self-tests for citizens in Germany - actually.
But at the start of the next large-scale campaign in the coronavirus pandemic, things are going wrong - at least in Bavaria.
Coronavirus pandemic in Germany
: From March 8, there will be
free corona self-tests
for citizens.
But already on the first day
it gets chaotic in Bavaria
- the citizens react with incomprehension.
The pharmacists do not know where and
how to settle the Covid-19 self-tests
.
Munich / Weilheim in Oberbayern / Berlin - So you should be the next game changer in the coronavirus pandemic: free corona rapid tests, available to everyone.
In all of Germany.
But already on the first day (March 8th) of the large-scale campaign by the Federal Government of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), the Health Ministry of Jens Spahn (CDU) and the federal states, a lot went wrong - at least in Bavaria.
Coronavirus pandemic in Germany: mega breakdown at the start of the corona rapid tests
The next glitch in corona crisis management!
Specifically: Many pharmacies in Bavaria were not able to give citizens free rapid tests on this Monday because it was still completely unclear how and from whom they would be reimbursed the costs for them.
What a mess.
How can that be?
A spokeswoman for the Federal
Ministry
of Health explained to
Merkur.de
: “The Minister has emphasized several times that the federal government is responsible for procuring the self-tests.
The implementation is up to the federal states. "
However, the Bavarian Ministry of Health in Munich left a written request from our editorial team with questions about responsibility unanswered on March 8th.
Corona rapid test in Germany: At the start of the campaign, there is pure chaos in Bavaria
At this point in time, the criticism from the pharmacy industry was already enormous.
“We are in the starting blocks, ready, including the test laboratory.
But we don't know where to bill for the self-tests, ”explained the pharmacist Iris Hundertmark from Weilheim in Upper Bavaria in an interview with
Merkur.de
.
She
checked
with the
Bayerischer Apothekerverband eV
days ago
, but she did not get an answer from them either.
“We are overrun today, we have a lot of inquiries.
The citizens' lack of understanding is great, "continued Hundertmark:" I'm waiting for the starting gun. "
Mega mishap around corona rapid tests in Bavaria: who slapped it?
According to reports, there is also great astonishment among general practitioners and specialists at the bumpy organization of the rapid test campaign in Bavaria.
"The starting shot is actually missing," said the spokesman for the
Bavarian Pharmacists' Association
, Thomas Metz, on Monday morning at an appointment in Munich.
Therefore, there is a lack of clarity about how much the federal government pays the pharmacies for each rapid test.
Although it cannot be ruled out that individual pharmacies would pay in advance on Monday and offer quick tests free of charge, this is currently only possible for self-payers.
“But there doesn't seem to be too much rush,” said Metz.
+
Problem solver in the coronavirus pandemic?
The corona rapid tests in Germany.
© Martin Wagner via www.imago-images.de
How many of the around 3,000 public pharmacies in Bavaria will be offering free rapid tests in the coming days cannot be reliably estimated, explained Metz according to the
German Press Agency (dpa)
.
And: "We are currently waiting for the revised Corona Test Ordinance to be published in the Federal Gazette."
Corona rapid tests in Bavaria and Germany: Federal confusion between the federal government and the states
Because it came too late?
Or has the Free State's Ministry of Health slouched?
In the federal mess of the new corona rules in the hard lockdown (until March 28), this was not foreseeable on the day of the supposed game changer.
(pm)