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Hanover (dpa / lni) - Before visiting grandma, have a short test for Corona: Lower Saxony has had private rapid test centers in at least two cities since this month.
In addition to the option of being tested by the family doctor, it is possible to have a so-called antigen test carried out in private rapid test centers in Hanover and Osnabrück for around 40 euros.
However, these antigen tests are not considered to be as accurate as PCR tests.
In Hanover it is necessary to register in advance.
You can also drive to the drive-in center in Osnabrück without prior notice and take a swab from your car.
There are two private rapid test centers in Osnabrück.
The "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" reported on this first.
Since Wednesday, Magnus Westerkamp's company alone has carried out around 600 rapid tests.
The entrepreneur came up with the idea of setting up such a center after completing his own quick test.
Unexpectedly, he got a positive result, although he had no symptoms at all, he told the dpa.
Westerkamp and his staff are now also going to companies and testing there.
"This saves working hours because 50 people do not have to come to the center," said the initiator.
According to Westerkamp, around three percent of those tested have so far received a positive result.
Another company in Osnabrück is scheduled to start testing this Tuesday.
A private center in Hanover, initiated by Julian Mirabadi, also offers the possibility of being tested and getting a result in around 15 minutes.
The antigen test there costs 49.99 euros.
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Until now, such antigen tests have mainly been offered in medical practices or care facilities.
A result is available within 30 minutes, because the samples do not have to go to the laboratory as with the PCR test.
The tests must be performed by medically trained personnel.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a positive result of a rapid test must be confirmed by a PCR test.
The Lower Saxony Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVN) is critical of the increasing supply.
The quick tests are a snapshot and a negative test result is not a license to not behave in a corona-compliant manner, said KVN spokesman Detlef Haffke.
However, antigen tests sometimes come into play in doctors' offices.
The deputy chairman of the Association of General Practitioners in Lower Saxony, Jens Wagenknecht, has his employees tested in practice.
The doctor from Varel believes that rapid tests are primarily intended for residents, employees and visitors in nursing homes, as well as for medical staff - just as the Federal Ministry of Health provides in the current test strategy.
They cost between 25 and 40 euros.
According to Wagenknecht, general practitioners also offer rapid tests for patients without symptoms in the event of a "realistic concern".
For example, if a visit to the grandparents is due and they are afraid of infecting them.
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"We are against doing business with people's fear," stressed Wagenknecht.
The Osnabrück test center manager Westerkamp sees it differently: “You don't make a loss, but not much remains.
We get 39.90 euros per quick test. "
National test strategy
Test center Osnabrück online registration mask
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Test center Osnabrück 2 online registration mask
Test center Hanover