Berlin – Corona rapid tests will generally have to be paid for yourself in the future. The federal government, which has so far taken over the costs for this, will discontinue the offer on October 11th. Since almost every citizen can now be vaccinated free of charge, taxpayers no longer have to pay the test costs on a permanent basis, so the reasoning. There are only exceptions for certain groups of people. Berlin wants to leave its state-owned test centers open for the time being – but not for all citizens. An overview:
Who is still entitled to a free rapid corona test after October 11th?
Those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons are still entitled to a free corona rapid test per week. Exceptions also apply to children up to the age of twelve – and to children who have turned twelve in the three months prior to the test. Even those who have to submit a test to end a prescribed quarantine can still request a free test, just like people who have participated in clinical studies on the effectiveness of corona vaccines.
There is an additional exception rule for children and adolescents from twelve to 17 years of age as well as for pregnant women. Since the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has only recently issued a general vaccination recommendation for these groups of people, and it is possible that not all who want to have been vaccinated yet, they should be given more time. This transitional regulation applies to them until December 31st. For 2022, it is planned that twelve to 17-year-olds and pregnant women will also have to pay for corona tests. Until then, students from abroad who are studying in Germany and who have been vaccinated with a vaccine that is not recognized in Germany can have a quick test free of charge.
What evidence are required to continue to be tested free of charge?
If you want to continue to take a free test, you must identify yourself and provide evidence that you are one of the eligible persons. In the case of children, for example, proof of identity is sufficient to determine their age. Anyone who was unable to get vaccinated for medical reasons and therefore needs a free corona test must present a corresponding receipt from the doctor. For pregnant women, the maternity card is sufficient, for students from abroad the certificate of study and the vaccination card.
How expensive are the corona rapid tests for everyone else?
It is not yet clear exactly how much the individual operators will charge for carrying out a corona rapid test with proof. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the prices can be estimated based on the previous reimbursement of costs by the federal government to the operators. Here the costs are between 11.50 euros for rapid tests and 43.56 euros for PCR tests. However, the prices will also differ depending on where they are carried out and how quickly the result is needed. The ADAC has made a cost evaluation of rapid and PCR tests at airports. According to this, the test center at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) charges 29 euros for a rapid antigen test at the time of the evaluation and 69 to 229 euros for a PCR test, depending on the time it takes until proof is available.
Will the test centers in Berlin remain open?
There are over 1000 test sites in Berlin. Most are privately run. With the reimbursement of costs running out, it can be assumed that fewer people will be tested in test centers. That would mean that it is often no longer worthwhile for operators to maintain the full range of services. How many test centers will close cannot yet be foreseen. “A control of the Senate administration with regard to the operating time and operating location of the privately operated test-to-go locations is not provided and is subject to economic considerations of the operator, especially with regard to the time and capacity of the offer,” says the Senate. The health administration has announced that it will keep twelve state-owned test centers open at least until the end of November. There, however, no tests are offered for a fee, said a spokesman for the health administration of the Berliner Zeitung, but only for those groups of people who are entitled to free tests, i.e. cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, for example. In addition, capacities were reduced there as early as September – from 1000 tests per center to 500. The opening times were also restricted. An overview of existing test options in Berlin can be found on the website test-to-go.berlin operated by the Senate.
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