In view of the small number of proven corona infections, visitors to Bavaria’s hospitals and nursing homes only have to submit a negative self-test from Friday. This was decided by the cabinet on Tuesday in Munich. According to the Ministry of Health, the self-test does not have to be carried out under supervision; rather, a declaration that the test was negative is sufficient.
Previously, a test certificate from a test center was required for visits to hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and full and semi-inpatient facilities for the care and accommodation of elderly, disabled or people in need of care.
“The test obligations are basically stipulated by federal law, but the federal states can provide for exceptions by regulation,” said Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU). “Given the current infection situation with the high level of immunity in the population, we can now make testing even easier.”
“It is already the case for vaccinated and recovered employees that an unsupervised self-test carried out no more than 24 hours ago is sufficient. We are now expanding this option to visitors as well as unvaccinated and unrecovered employees,” says Holetschek. As in other areas of life, people’s personal responsibility is now being increasingly relied upon. “For the employees, the frequency of the test evidence will also be adjusted. In the future, two tests per calendar week will always be sufficient for these, i.e. also for unvaccinated and unrecovered employees.”
Since the federal coronavirus test regulation expires on February 28, 2023, but it is unclear whether it will be extended again, the test capacities of the test centers that are still in place are already decreasing, it said. It is therefore becoming more difficult for people to obtain a test certificate. “We reacted to this development early on,” said Holetschek.
