Not authorized by health department City of Bonn shuts down Covid-19 test site due to violations

Bonn · A Covid-19 test center in Bonn city center was closed down by the authorities after several violations were found. One of the problems was that it had not been authorized by the public health department.

 A Covid-19 testing site was closed down by the City of Bonn.

A Covid-19 testing site was closed down by the City of Bonn.

Foto: dpa/Robert Michael

People who are not yet fully vaccinated or recovered from coronavirus still need to rely on testing sites. There is now one less of these in Bonn, with the city having reported that a testing site in Bonn city center had to be shut down. According to the city administration, the minimum standards were not met, and there was a lack of visual protection screens. “Even more serious was that there had been no health department authorization for the test center to offer free tests to the public," informed deputy city spokesman Marc Hoffmann on Thursday in response to a GA inquiry.

In addition to hygiene rules, testing sites must meet certain minimum standards, as required under the Corona Protection Ordinance. It states, for example, how often the test site must be ventilated, which trash bags must be used or that gloves must be changed after each test. Besides that, test sites must be open for at least 20 hours - including afternoons and weekends.

Only 0.2428 percent of rapid tests are positive

According to the city, there are currently 282 testing sites in Bonn. These have been and will continue to be monitored by the city's public order service and the public health department. As well, the city responds to tips it receives from residents. But complaints have been “manageable”, mostly relating to issues such as documentation, hygienic deficiencies or improperly performed tests. "Especially in recent times, there have been virtually no complaints from residents," says Hoffmann.

As of Wednesday, a total of 336,478 rapid tests (5,177 tests a day) had been reported since March 15 by testing sites that are authorized or under contract to the health department. According to the city, 817 of these tests produced a positive result. This is a rate of 0.2428 percent.

Test providers receive 18 euros compensation for materials and service per test. This is regulated nationwide, and invoicing is carried out via the associations of statutory health insurance physicians. The costs are covered by the federal government.

But North Rhine-Westphalia pays even more: test centers receive a one-off set-up subsidy of 1,000 euros. In addition, a lump sum of 1,000 euros per month is paid, regardless of the number of tests administered. The authorities pay out the costs and are reimbursed for the expenses by the NRW Ministry of Health.

(Orig. text: Fabian Schäfer / Translation: Carol Kloeppel)

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