Hamburg (dpa / lno) – The CDU calls for better protection of the Hamburg care facilities against the corona virus. There are still “serious gaps” in the existing test system, said the health expert of the parliamentary group, Stephan Gamm, of the German press agency. “Nursing homes are still Corona hotspots.” It is true that the impression is given that “residents, employees and visitors are being tested everywhere in the homes”. But this is not the way a small inquiry showed. “Even at the end of January, the red-green Senate did not have a precise overview of whether and how the implementation on site was working.”
According to the Senate, only 104 out of 148 care facilities took part in a survey in mid-January. However, all of these indicated that they carried out rapid tests on their employees.
In contrast to gaps in the system, “the 66 outbreaks in nursing homes since the use of rapid tests according to the coronavirus test regulation from mid-October 2020 cannot be explained,” said Gamm. Doctors, therapists and other external service providers employed in nursing homes are also not regularly tested. In the Senate answer, it says: “Suppliers, ambulance workers and undertakers are not covered by the test obligation (…).”
The Senate is currently focusing on vaccinations in nursing homes. But weeks would pass before they were completed, Gamm warned. “The Senate must act quickly here if it wants to prevent further deaths from infections.”
Most recently, the health authority announced on Tuesday that the “depressingly high number of open cases” in the care facilities was decreasing around the turn of the year. 378 residents are infected in 38 facilities. Five care facilities had 20 or more cases. 176 nursing home workers were infected across the city.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210204-99-295446 / 2
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