Germany: great success for commercial antigen tests
An employee of an Aldi store in Essen fills a shelf with antigen tests.
REUTERS - WOLFGANG RATTAY
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
They are part of the German government's deconfinement strategy.
The antigenic tests, to do it yourself at home, appeared for just a few tens of minutes in stores Saturday at discounters.
Publicity
Read more
With our correspondent in Berlin
,
Nathalie Versieux
Long queues formed early in the morning in front of the supermarkets of the Aldi chain, as Renate explains, left empty-handed: “
Yes, there is nothing left.
The kind cashier told me that even though I had arrived at 7am this morning, the line was so long at 6.30am already that there was already not enough for everyone.
They were gone in no time!
"
Five test kits to do yourself at home for 24.99 euros, one package per customer only ... The chain was robbed in less than an hour.
The same goes for the kits sold by Lidl on its electronic site.
A nasal swab, the result in less than 15 minutes, home tests should allow Germans to resume a more normal social life without endangering family and friends.
The government has also promised that as of Monday, everyone would be entitled to
one
free
antigen test
per week, carried out in pharmacies or in approved centers.
Here too, we expect a rush, while the number of contaminations is on the rise and the weariness of public opinion has forced the government to relax health measures this week.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Germany
Coronavirus