Doctors’ offices, gyms and companies: Citizens can have quick tests done in many places. In some places even without getting out of the car. What is the experience of the drive-in test centers like?
One car after the other rolls up, nobody gets out. Helpers in protective suits take a nasal swab through an open window. Some drive-in test centers also belong to the good 900 corona rapid test sites in Rhineland-Palatinate. The spokeswoman for the State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Care in Mainz, Anna Bendel, thinks this variant is good in view of the highly contagious corona virus: “The less contact, the better.”
Hundreds of tests at Mendig Airfield
For example, the drive-in test center at Mendig airfield in the East Eifel has been open regularly since March 13th. “In theory, you could land here with a small machine and have yourself tested,” says the spokesman for the Mendig community, Alexander Kutz. The German Red Cross and around 80 volunteers have already tested more than 600 citizens here. Around 1,100 more appointments have already been made online. The test center is operated by the Mendig and Pellenz municipalities.
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The coronavirus is still the determining topic in Rhineland-Palatinate. The number of new infections is rising again significantly, and in some places the emergency brake is being pulled. The current development here in the blog.
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Test result by email after 20 minutes
In the Palatinate town of Lambsheim, the former entrepreneur Stefano Ferraro set up a test center for drivers with a few helpers and opened it on March 27th. “Drive-in is better because of the hygiene rules. People usually huddle together like chickens,” says the retiree. After an online training session, he and his team would have started. “After the test, it takes a maximum of 20 minutes, then people get their test results by email,” explains Ferraro.
Test for people with no symptoms
Every citizen residing in Germany is entitled to a free rapid test in a center once a week. The operators can get a small sum of money from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) Rhineland-Palatinate for each test. The KV gets this back from the Federal Social Security Office – so the federal government pays. Only citizens without symptoms can be tested. If the result is positive, the health department is notified – quarantine and PCR test must follow. Regardless of this, retailers and pharmacies sell self-tests for use at home. But: There is no certificate of the result.
Alexander Kutz said of the Mendig drive-in test center: “We have had very positive feedback. One restaurant owner even delivered us food as a thank you.” The drivers wanted to create a 24-hour feeling of security, for example to visit relatives or meet friends.
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The ministry is skeptical about drive-in vaccination centers
Why not set up drive-in vaccination centers as well? The Ministry of Health in Mainz sees no need for the time being: there is still too little vaccine, the 30 or so vaccination centers in the country are therefore underutilized, and family doctors will also be able to vaccinate in the future. In addition, the organization of a vaccination center is considered more complex than that of a rapid test center.
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