I hope highly accurate (> 90% confidence) rapid tests become available soon for mass usage at reasonable costs (<100C$), especially at airports. If and when they become available, I hope Canada would allow entry to Americans if we test negative at arrival port-of-entry.
How testing at German airports aims to stop coronavirus at the border
COVID-19 cases are rising as many Germans are going abroad for vacation. Health Minister Jens Spahn wants mandatory testing for when they come back. Voluntary testing is already underway, such as at Cologne-Bonn Airport.
COVID-19 cases are rising as many Germans are going abroad for vacation. Health Minister Jens Spahn wants mandatory testing for when they come back. Voluntary testing is already underway, such as at Cologne-Bonn Airport.
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"Tests cost 90 euros ($105), but since the weekend they have been made free to anyone returning from a risk area.
"There have been considerably more people coming to get tested now that they're free," Kirner said. How many depends on the number of arriving flights. "Six flights landed in only one night last weekend. So we had to find people to handle that."
Volunteers also pitch in when staffing is stretched thin. They don't ask for a boarding pass to prove they've flown or where they've come from. "So far, we've taken people at their word," Kirner said.
Germany's public health authority, the Robert Koch Institute, counts about 130 countries as coronavirus risk areas. That includes Turkey, Israel, and the US. Within Europe, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, and Ukraine belong to that group.
Travelers from non-risk zones also have to pay themselves. Ute Menke did so, following a five-day trip to northern Italy with her son.
"Grandma is in the hospital right now. We got ourselves tested so my son can visit her again," she said.
Airport testing to slow the spread
Testing at Cologne-Bonn Airport starts in a tent in front of the mobile station. Johanniter staff ask people for their phone numbers, then conduct the tests inside the trailer while wearing protective gear. Some travelers getting tested have arrived not by plane, but by car, having returned from their vacation destinations over land.
Results are available via an app, sometimes within 24 hours. False negatives are possible for those carrying the virus but not yet showing symptoms. Still, airport testing can help slow the spread, Kirner said.
Mandatory testing for people returning from high-risk areas is likely to come into force next week. The Federal Doctors Association has warned a follow-up test would be necessary five days after the initial one to ensure the accuracy of the first result, the association's chief, Ute Teichert, told German media. "