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In the coming week, North Rhine-Westphalia will be the first federal state to introduce so-called PCR pool tests at primary and special schools.
From Monday, the so-called lollipop tests will replace the previous rapid antigen tests, said School Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) on Friday in Düsseldorf.
“They are more child-friendly and easier to use.” The “lollipop tests” could help detect infections earlier and break possible chains of infection more quickly.
"We are thus also securing school operations," explained Gebauer.
The pupils should take the “lollipop test” twice a week.
They do this by sucking on a swab for 30 seconds.
In a second step, the swabs from all children in the study group are evaluated as an anonymous collective sample in a laboratory on the same day.
This method ensures "a very reliable test result," it said.
In addition, a possible infection can be detected much earlier with a PCR test than with a rapid test.
The project is aimed at almost 3,800 schools across the country and requires around 35,000 pool tests every day.
Over 400 routes have been established for the transport of samples between schools and laboratories.
The tests were already successfully tested in March of this year over a period of three weeks as part of a pilot project at 22 schools in Cologne.
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