During the compulsory break, clubs and restaurants are breaking new ground in many places: for example as a corona rapid test center. A visit to Berlin and Munich.
By Iris Marx, RBB, and Moritz Steinbacher, BR
“Come naked and be wild,” says the Instagram post of the Kitkat Club, which is known beyond Berlin for its low-textile parties. But this time the fetish club doesn’t mean it with this request. Immediately afterwards it says: “Please don’t”. What is offered here has little to do with partying. These are rapid corona tests that are carried out by a doctor and are intended to provide security in 25 minutes as to whether the person tested has been infected.
It costs 24.90 euros. “Since it is currently almost impossible to get a rapid corona test in Berlin, we offer the option in the club,” the operators justify their initiative.
Cooperation with the health department
In the event of a positive test, you should immediately go to quarantine and contact a doctor who will check the result with the help of the more reliable PCR test. The report to the health department is mandatory.
The safety standards in the “Kitkat” correspond to those of other test centers. “That is also an imperative,” warns the chairwoman of the Federal Association of Doctors in the Public Health Service (BVÖGD) tagesschau.de. “We can see that these positions are currently emerging in many places, whether in a club or even a kiosk in Frankfurt. It must be ensured here that there is no uncontrolled growth and that the operators do not only enrich themselves with the legitimate interests of the people.” The prices for the tests fluctuate widely between 24.90 and 49 euros in Berlin alone.
Not a new source of income
Several clubs in Berlin have announced that they will follow the “Kitkat example”. “But it is clearly not about finding a new source of income during the lockdown”, Lutz Leichsenring, spokesman for the Berlin club commission, contradicts the BVÖGD’s fears. “People should be able to move more freely again,” said the club spokesman. “With many test centers in town, going to restaurants and bars may eventually become possible again.”
Corona test instead of meat loaf
But not only in the capital, also in the south of the republic they are breaking new ground. For example the traditional restaurant “Altes Hackerhaus” in the Munich pedestrian zone. In the inn, which was closed due to the lockdown, corona rapid tests are now offered instead of pork sausages and meat loaf.
For 45 euros you can have a swab done by the medical director, Alexander Auer – Bavarian culinary delights of a different kind. You get the result within 15 minutes. According to the manufacturer, the test accuracy is 96 percent, says Auer.
Come in, take a swab, wait outside
Auer got the idea for the rapid test center through his circle of friends. Many had questions about Corona, the risk of infection and rapid tests. Auer quickly came to an agreement with “Hackerhaus” host Lorenz Stiftl on the terms. Auer rented the restaurant, which was closed due to Corona.
Of the rooms in the restaurant, which can accommodate around 500 guests, the doctor only needs the entrance area. If you want to be tested, come in briefly, take the smear and wait outside for the result. The rapid test center in the restaurant is well received. People keep coming into the restaurant from the pedestrian zone, asking for appointments.
Incidentally, a Munich nightclub also offers the same concept. Where there was a party before Corona is now being tested. “Hackherhaus” host Stiftl hopes that the many small test centers will detect corona infections more quickly and thus the incidence value will decrease rapidly. But this hope still seems a long way off.
