More cases, more tests, more effort - Omikron spills through the district of Starnberg

Created: 2022-01-20 13:02

By: Simon Nutzinger

This special device in the St-Vitus pharmacy in Gilching delivers fast results.

Owner Iris Blaschke (left) and employee Marion Meßner can evaluate the so-called PoC tests within half an hour.

© Andrea Jaksch

The rising corona numbers are causing an ever-increasing need for tests in the district.

The demand for the PCR variant in particular is high.

A lot of work for the district office and the general practitioners.

However, they refuse to prioritize it.

district

– The omicron wave is still sloshing through the district. And with more and more positive findings, the need for tests naturally increases. Demand for the PCR variant in particular is currently higher than ever. At least Stefan Diebl, spokesman for the district office, shares this impression. "There's really a lot going on at the moment," he says, referring to the district's official test station in Gilching.

Almost 100 people come by there every day to do a PCR test.

This means a lot of effort, especially for the employees in the laboratories.

Because in addition to evaluating whether the test is positive, the virus variant must also be determined.

According to Diebl, this led to some delays around Christmas, when demand was particularly high.

"Some of the results weren't available within 24 hours," he admits.

But this is important.

On the one hand, to detect an illness as early as possible, but on the other hand because the test is usually only valid for 48 hours after it has been taken.

District office changes test laboratory

In order to avoid such cases in the future, the district office is making a change.

Instead of going to a laboratory in Augsburg, as before, the samples will be sent to Munich from February.

"There we were assured that the results would be available within 24 hours at the latest," emphasizes Diebl.

But PCR tests are not only offered at the test center in Gilching.

The general practitioners in particular play an elementary role in the smears.

This is how Dr.

Raghild Welp in her practice in Gauting about 50 of them every day.

Paid PCR tests, which are done voluntarily, so to speak, are the absolute exception.

"A maximum of three a day," emphasizes Welp.

Most patients come because they have received a message from their Corona warning app, are a contact person or already have symptoms or a positive rapid test.

Despite the rush, the results are usually there after 24 hours.

"It's been working quite well so far."

Extreme effort for general practitioners

Something similar is observed by Dr. Sarah Hümmer-Wiecken from the practice for general medicine in Herrsching. Tests are carried out there both in the morning and at noon – and the samples are then sent directly to the laboratory. According to her, even with around 70 swabs a day, the results are reliably sent to the cell phones of the patients within one day. "It's all associated with extreme effort for everyone involved, but we can do it," says Hümmer-Wiecken.

In the same horn blows Dr.

Mark of Rebay.

He currently takes up to ten tests a day.

In fact, he and his team in the small practice in Gilching don't have time for this apart from their "actual work", as von Rebay calls it.

But there were simply too many calls about it, as if he could ignore them.

"Now we're going to do that as well - it doesn't help." However, he does not want to promise whether the results will also be available within 24 hours in the future.

Only yesterday did he receive a letter from his laboratory saying that they were slowly but surely not able to keep up with the evaluation.

"Let's see how that develops."

Special test procedure in St. Vitus pharmacy in Gilching

There is a much faster way to get your diagnosis at the St. Vitus pharmacy in Gilching. Here Iris Blaschke offers so-called PoC tests. Like a PCR test, these are based on the nucleic acid amplification technique, but can be evaluated on site with the help of a special device and within half an hour. An external laboratory is therefore not required in this case. The catch: According to Blaschke, the PoC variant is not quite as reliable as a PCR test. "There is a small risk of false negative results," she admits. However, this does not detract from the demand. Around 100 people come to the pharmacy every day for a swab. Most people are happy to accept that the test costs 75 euros. "People just want to knowwhat's going on and don't wait a day or two for a result," says Blaschke. This is a factor that should not be neglected, especially when it comes to children. "After all, parents want their little ones to go back to school as soon as possible."

Overall satisfied with the course of the tests, Dr.

Bernhard Junge-Hülsing.

"It's not always easy to deal with all inquiries promptly," clarifies the medical coordinator of general practitioners and specialists in the district.

"But I'm not worried that our test capacities will collapse." He also doesn't think it's necessary to prioritize, as Health Minister Karl Lauterbach brought into play.

"It is important that everyone can be tested at any time," emphasizes Junge-Hülsing.

A view shared by his colleagues in the district.

For example, says Dr.

Raghild Welp from Gauting: “Children in particular must be tested regularly as they are frequent carriers of infection.” If prioritized, these would probably be at the back.

"And that would be exactly wrong."