Coronavirus: Germany has a capacity of 900,000 tests per week, according to its Minister of Health
Germany has a capacity of 900,000 coronavirus tests per week, said the Minister of Health on Wednesday, who intends to generalize them among health personnel as a priority.
"Today we theoretically already have a capacity of almost 900,000 tests per week provided that the material for these tests is available," said Jens Spahn at a press conference in Berlin.
While the country is currently carrying out 470,000 tests weekly, this capacity could help prevent the virus from starting in medical staff in hospitals or in elderly care centers, he said.
"I think it is very very important to see, after what we have achieved in recent weeks, (...) that the greatest risk of triggering the virus is the health system," he said. he pointed out, wishing that these tests be carried out in a "most complete and most preventive way possible".
The law and the test criteria of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's health authority, have been adapted to take this into account, according to the minister.
According to the RKI, the infection rate currently stands at 0.9, which means that 10 people with the virus infect 9 others.
The drop in this rate below 1.0 recently encouraged Angela Merkel's government to relax its containment rules. Since last week, stores with an area of less than 800 m² have been able to reopen, and in some regions, middle and high school students have resumed classes.
At the same time, the country has decided to make the wearing of the mask mandatory in public transport and in stores, in order to prevent a second wave of infections with the new coronavirus, potentially more severe than the first.
Compared to its French or Italian neighbors, Germany has so far weathered the epidemic better. According to the latest RKI figures on Wednesday, the number of infections reached 157,641, 1,304 more than the previous day. More than 6,100 people have died from the virus.
Germany has a capacity of 900,000 coronavirus tests per week, said the Minister of Health on Wednesday, who intends to generalize them among health personnel as a priority.
"Today we theoretically already have a capacity of almost 900,000 tests per week provided that the material for these tests is available," said Jens Spahn at a press conference in Berlin.
While the country is currently carrying out 470,000 tests weekly, this capacity could help prevent the virus from starting in medical staff in hospitals or in elderly care centers, he said.
"I think it is very very important to see, after what we have achieved in recent weeks, (...) that the greatest risk of triggering the virus is the health system," he said. he pointed out, wishing that these tests be carried out in a "most complete and most preventive way possible".
The law and the test criteria of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's health authority, have been adapted to take this into account, according to the minister.
According to the RKI, the infection rate currently stands at 0.9, which means that 10 people with the virus infect 9 others.
The drop in this rate below 1.0 recently encouraged Angela Merkel's government to relax its containment rules. Since last week, stores with an area of less than 800 m² have been able to reopen, and in some regions, middle and high school students have resumed classes.
At the same time, the country has decided to make the wearing of the mask mandatory in public transport and in stores, in order to prevent a second wave of infections with the new coronavirus, potentially more severe than the first.
Compared to its French or Italian neighbors, Germany has so far weathered the epidemic better. According to the latest RKI figures on Wednesday, the number of infections reached 157,641, 1,304 more than the previous day. More than 6,100 people have died from the virus.
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