Exclusive
Status: March 9th, 2021 2:45 p.m.
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Only a fraction of the people entering from abroad are checked to see whether they have a negative corona test result. This is shown by research by the ARD politics magazine Report Mainz.
By Monika Anthes and Alexander Moskovic,
SWR
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The Federal Police only checked around 176,000 travelers at German airports between January 14 and February 17, 2021 whether they had a negative Corona test certificate. From the beginning of the year to mid-February, more than 1.5 million people entered Germany from a high-risk, high-risk or virus variant area and registered with an entry report. This emerges from a response by the federal government to a small request from the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, which Report Mainz is exclusive.
Close-knit controls – no evidence
The FDP member of the Bundestag Bernd Reuther criticizes the control and testing of travelers. “Our inquiry clearly showed that the federal government has no strategy or concept at all when it comes to returning travelers. Only every sixth or seventh – depending on how you read it – is checked at all to see whether they have a negative test,” he said Report Mainz. If travel is to be normalized, it must be ensured that everyone is controlled. “This is a key to safe travel,” said Reuter.
Evidence of negative test easy to manipulate
In addition, research by Report Mainzthat there are no verifiable, uniform standards for negative Corona test evidence. This makes them easy to manipulate.
For example, a German who came from the virus variant area of Brazil could easily enter Germany with a negative test written on a PC in paper form. During the inspection, the federal police did not recognize the forgery.
Fake Corona Certificate from Ukraine.
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Faced with this case, the federal police share Report Mainz with that she is aware of such cases. But the officials are trained. But how exactly the Federal Police detects the forgeries of negative test certificates, the Federal Police did not want to provide any information for “tactical investigative reasons”.
Online trading in negative tests
In addition, professional counterfeiters offer negative “fake corona test certificates” worldwide via websites or messenger services.
Report Mainz succeeded in purchasing such certificates in Russia and Ukraine. Within a few hours it was possible to purchase a fake negative Corona test certificate for an amount of less than 20 euros.
Europol warned of fake tests back in February. The German police also repeatedly report cases of entry with falsified test results, for example at the border with Austria or Poland.
At the end of February, the police stopped a pickup truck with Ukrainian registration in the Saxon town of Hagenwerder on the border with Poland. All six travelers had a fake test certificate with them.
Requirement for mandatory tests on arrival
At the federal level, it is not only the opposition that criticizes the German test strategy. There are also calls for better test and entry concepts within the governing parties. CDU politician Patrick Sensburg said in an interview with Report Mainz: “If people come back without a test, without a check, there will be some who have become infected and of course I have to filter them out. “He is in favor of mandatory tests at airports upon entry.
Nationwide tests of return travelers had already been carried out in late summer 2020. Peter Bauer from the company CENTOGENE, which operates large test centers at numerous international airports in Germany, says about feasibility: “This is easily feasible. If we know that we have this strategy, we will test everyone who arrives here in the summer as well can.”
The company CENTOGENE operates test centers at several airports.
Image: dpa
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The cooperation between tech companies and test centers, for example at Frankfurt Airport, shows that not only comprehensive, but also forgery-proof corona tests are possible. Since June 2020, test certificates have been stored there in a forgery-proof manner using special encryption software.
Report Mainz has sent the Federal Ministry of Health a comprehensive catalog of questions about the research and asked, among other things, how it positions itself to tighten controls and mandatory tests at airports. The ministry did not provide specific answers to most of the questions. The Federal Ministry of the Interior confirmed that it was aware of the phenomenon of forged test certificates, but currently sees no need for further action.
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