BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany approved three COVID-19 tests for home use as part of Health Minister Jens Spahn’s strategy to help Europe’s biggest economy emerge from a lockdown that has been in place since mid-December.
The infection price in Germany fell steadily within the first weeks of the yr but has stagnated in recent days, making it more difficult for leaders to ease restrictions when they meet next week to consider lockdown rules that run to March 7.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has informed lawmakers in her conservative party that making speedy tests more accessible and boosting testing capacity could make a return to normality more durable, two sources on the meeting informed Reuters on Tuesday.
The government expects such tests will cost it up to 810 million euros ($985 million) a month for 30 million to 45 million tests, in line with documents obtained by Reuters.
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Germany’s pharmaceutical regulator, on Wednesday approved antigen tests made by Healgen Scientific, Xiamen Boson Biotech and Hangzhou Laihe Biotech to be used by people who are not medical professionals, according to its website.
Spahn informed broadcaster ZDF earlier that further home test kits could be approved next week.
Different nations are also banking on home tests to assist limit the spread of the virus. In Austria, self-tests are already being used in schools, and they will be accessible to the general public free of charge at pharmacies from next week.
In England, volunteers and police have handed out COVID-19 testing kits to try to halt the spread of a highly infectious variant that originated in South Africa.
In Germany, the number of confirmed coronavirus circumstances rose by 8,007 to 2,402,818, an increase of 451 compared with a week ago. The infection price rose to 59.3 cases per 100,000 individuals over the past seven days, from 57 a week earlier.
