Mandating Testing?

 There's an interview appearing today in Bild Am Sonntag....with the German Minister of Labor (Hubertus Heil, SPD Party).

So he intends to present the next 'big' Covid idea......a nationwide mandated Covid test for companies. 

There's to be a meeting to cover this on Tuesday.

N-TV does a great job of summing up the story, and I recommend a read of it.

A general survey (done by the federal folks) has shown that six out of ten Germans employed....work for a company that is providing some kind of testing.  My best example is my wife, who is issued a 5.99 Euro test kit and asked to test by Monday morning.

My humble thoughts on the cheapo 5.99 kit?  As the Covid-19 virus swept through my wife's company last week....all of them (the 12-odd people who were around) used the kit, and it gave  off a negative result.....meaning no Covid.  All went to their doctors over the symptoms, and all were given the 'gold standard' of tests (the PCR test), and all were diagonalized with Covid-19.

I'm not going to say the 5.99 cheapo test is worthless.....it does provide you with a negative result, which tends to make you feel really good for ten minutes, then you revert back to your symptoms, and wonder what the hell is going on.

The idea of obligating companies to buy and issue the cheapo test?  So far, if brought up in public forums....the CDU folks haven't been very agreeable on the idea of obligation.  They avoid saying it's a crappy test or probably not helping.  

If you think about it.....forty-percent of companies (based on the polling) don't issue the test currently.  Even if it worked....is simply once a week enough?  My humble belief is no....it'd almost have to occur each work-day.

Will this get pushed through?  Unknown.  Cost factor?  Well....if you just said once a week, and offered some tax credit to the companies for the cost....maybe it makes some sense.  But these 5.99 tests have a long way to go....to improve and be the 'gold standard' of testing.