It also makes sense to get tested at indoor events, after risk contacts, when the Corona warning app displays a red warning or to protect vulnerable groups in order to break chains of infection. Those who need such a test will continue to be supported by the state. In future, however, he or she will have to contribute 3 euros. This applies to:

• Persons planning to attend an indoor event on the day of testing
• People who will have contact on the day of testing with people who are at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 (these are people aged 60 and over, people with disabilities or with pre-existing conditions).
• People who have received an indication of an increased risk through the Corona warning app ("red tile").

Yes, it is also necessary to be able to prove eligibility for citizenship tests with co-payment. This can be done, for example, by showing an admission ticket to an event, the Corona warning app or, in the case of contact with high-risk patients, a self-disclosure form or a digital registration process.

The €3 fee must be paid from 30 June 2022 if you want to be tested before attending an indoor event, before visiting a vulnerable person (people aged 60 or over, people with disabilities, people with pre-existing conditions) or if you are warned by the Corona warning app.

Involuntary testing can contribute to overloading laboratories and distorting statistics. Therefore, no-cause tests are discouraged. If you do not have any of the above-mentioned reasons for a free or 3 euro citizenship test (relatives, risk contacts , etc.) and still want to be tested, this is still possible at the test centre, but must be paid for yourself. Provided that the test centre offers it.

Symptomatic patients should go to the doctor. In future, they will be tested by the family doctors or facilities of the public health service (ÖGD). They will be billed via the health insurance card.

Doctors can order a PCR test within the framework of medical treatment if COVID-19-specific symptoms are present. This applies regardless of the presence of a positive antigen test. In this case, billing does not take place according to the test prescription, but within the framework of the patient's medical treatment.

Entitlement to a PCR test outside of health care(for asymptomatic persons) is regulated in the testing ordinance.

If a rapid antigen test is positive, the person tested is entitled to a free PCR test to confirm the rapid test result in accordance with § 4b p. 1 TestV. This also applies in the case of a positive self-test.

In addition, the persons listed below are entitled to testing. However, there is no strict entitlement to PCR testing. Whether an antigen test or a PCR test is carried out is at the discretion of the service provider and/or depends on national legal requirements. The following groups of persons are entitled to testing:

• If they have been identified as a contact person by a treating physician of a person infected with the SARS-CoV-2coronavirus, by institutions and companies according to § 3 para. 2 TestV(e.g. schools, day-care centres, hospitals, inpatient care facilities) or by the public health service
• If identified by the public health service, persons who have stayed in an area classified as a virus variant area within the meaning of § 2 number 3a of the Coronavirus Entry Ordinance at any time in the last ten days prior to entry into the Federal Republic of Germany. The entitlement exists for up to 14 days after entry into the Federal Republic of Germany.
• If, in a health care facility or a comparable facility outside the regular health care system, a person with SARS-CoV-2 infected person has been detected, persons who have been in the affected areas of the facility in the last 14 days.
  This applies, for example, to facilities such as
  • Schools, day care centres
  • Asylum seekers' homes, initial reception facilities, emergency shelters
  • Hospitals
  • Rehabilitation facilities
  • inpatient care facilities
  • Facilities for people with disabilities
  • Facilities for outpatient surgery
  • Dialysis centres
  • outpatient care
  • Outpatient services of the integration assistance
  • Day clinics
  • Outpatient hospice services and palliative care
  • Medical practices, dental practices and practices of other medical health care professions according to § 23 paragraph 3 sentence 1 number 9 IfSG
• Persons who are to be treated or accommodated in a health care facility or in a comparably vulnerable area and who are required to do so by the respective facility or the public health service.
  This applies to the following institutions or companies: 
  • Hospitals
  • Rehabilitation facilities
  • inpatient care facilities
  • Facilities for people with disabilities
  • Facilities for outpatient surgery
  • Dialysis centres
  • outpatient care
  • Outpatient services of the integration assistance
  • Outpatient hospice services and palliative care
  • Day clinics
  • Vocational rehabilitation facilities according to § 51 paragraph 1 SGB IX
  • Inpatient facilities and outpatient services for integration assistance
  • Homeless shelters
  • Facilities for the collective accommodation of asylum seekers, persons who are obliged to leave the country, refugees and late repatriates

For a meaningful test result, you should not chew gum, eat, drink or smoke for at least 15 minutes before the test.

The antigen test can detect specific protein fragments (proteins) that are structurally or functionally a component of the corona virus (SARS-CoV2) by means of a swab. The antigen test is uncomplicated and quick to perform, as a qualitative "yes/no" answer can be provided on the basis of a patient sample (smear). 

In principle, it should be said that a test result always represents only a snapshot. A negative test result means that no Sars-CoV-2-specific antigens could be detected at the time of testing. There is therefore a high probability that there is no infection with SARS-CoV-2. The risk of infection to third parties is currently low in this case.

However, a negative result does not rule out a possible SARS-CoV-2 infection at any time. There are reasons why test results can be false negatives or false positives. These include factors such as timing of testing (what is the viral load), performance and rare statistical features.

Therefore, even if the result of a rapid antigen test is negative, be sure to act prudently and follow the AHA+L+A formula. 

Keep your distance, observe hygiene, wear a mask in everyday life, ventilate regularly and use the Corona warning app.

If you have acute corona symptoms such as cough, fever, runny nose, loss of sense of smell or taste, sore throat, headache, pain in the limbs, shortness of breath or general weakness, you must not take the rapid test with us for the protection of our staff and other test subjects.

Rapid and self-tests have a higher error rate than PCR tests. A positive result therefore represents an initial suspicion of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. It is not a diagnosis. However, positive rapid antigen tests must be reported to public health authorities. Therefore, after every positive rapid test and self-test, a PCR test should always be done very promptly for clarification.  

To make an appointment for a PCR test, please first contact your family doctor, a suitable doctor's practice or a suitable test centre by telephone. Until the result is available, you should voluntarily isolate yourself, i.e. consistently reduce your contacts to an absolute minimum.

At Bürgertest Berlin, we only use CE-certified rapid antigen tests listed by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices and approved by the Paul Ehrlich Institute. 

The rapid antigen test we use has particularly high values in terms of test accuracy, with a specificity of 99.2% and a sensitivity of 97.1%. 

By way of explanation: 

Sensitivity (of a test to detect infection or disease) indicates the sensitivity of a test, i.e. the degree of probability that a test can reliably detect a particular disease (or a sought-after pathogen or changes associated with it)

The specificity (of a test for the detection of an infection or disease) indicates the accuracy, targeting of a test, i.e. the degree of probability of reliably ruling out a specific disease (or a pathogen sought or changes associated with it) in healthy persons or obtaining a negative result in healthy persons.

In principle, persons from 5 years of age may be tested. However, a legal guardian (parent) for children under 14 years of age must book the appointment and be present. Children over 14 years of age may book a test and attend the appointment independently with a declaration of consent from their legal guardian.

The PCR test (also called laboratory test) is the gold standard among the corona tests. By means of a swab from the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, it can be reliably detected whether pathogens are present.

The PCR test is a standard procedure in the diagnosis of viruses. The test is based on the so-called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In this process, the genetic material of the virus is amplified. This procedure makes it possible to detect viruses even when the viral load is still very low. The PCR test therefore has a high sensitivity and detects the Corona virus with a high degree of accuracy. In addition, only the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is specifically amplified. The test thus has a high specificity, i.e. it detects exactly the desired virus.

The PCR test is considered the most reliable test to clarify the suspicion of an acute infection due to its high sensitivity and the examination in the laboratory. For all age groups, it is the decisive test for deciding whether someone needs to go into quarantine.

The PCR test complies with the requirements for upcoming travel and for travelers returning from risk areas.

With a negative PCR test, the quarantine time can be shortened under certain conditions.

The National Testing Strategy also provides recommendations on when to use a PCR test:

• in the case of symptoms such as cough, fever, cold, loss of sense of smell or taste, sore throat, headache, pain in the limbs, shortness of breath or general weakness, which are indicative of COVID-19 disease,
• for clarification after a positive result in the rapid antigen test or antigen self-test,
• in case of contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case,
• in institutions such as schools or day-care centres, hospitals, doctors' surgeries, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities or community accommodation, as well as in outpatient care or doctors' surgeries if COVID-19 cases occur there,
• before (re-)admission to hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities as well as before outpatient surgery.

Travelling is possible. However, due to the Corona pandemic, special rules apply in some cases when travelling at home and abroad.

Individual travel advice has been in force worldwide since 1 October 2020. The Federal Foreign Office warns against unnecessary tourist travel to a large number of countries. A travel warning applies in principle to areas that are classified as high-risk areas or as virus variant areas.

Since 1 August 2021, all persons entering Germany from the age of 12 must be tested, vaccinated or recovered. Special regulations apply to high-risk and virus variant areas. The Coronavirus Entry Ordinance uniformly regulates the obligation to register, quarantine and provide proof upon entry as well as restrictions for transport from virus variant areas throughout Germany.

Current information for travellers is available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health. A leaflet with the regulations for people entering Germany is also available there in several languages. Information for travellers can also be found on the website of the Federal Government.

You will receive the test result for the antigen rapid test already 20 to 30 minutes after testing via SMS and e-mail. 

For the PCR test, we offer different speeds for the evaluation of the result. The shortest evaluation happens within only 3 hours after sample collection. [read more]

Before you want to take a Corona test, you can book an appointment with us online. By making an appointment for the Corona tests, we can avoid long waiting times.

After you have registered and paid at our Corona test centre, you will be called directly to the test staff who will take the swab. The swab for the rapid antigen test or PCR test only takes a few seconds. Afterwards, we will ask you to leave the test site in order to keep on-site contacts to a minimum. If you have takena rapid test or a citizen's test that is evaluated directly on site, you will even receive your test result by e-mail just 30 minutes later. 

In rare cases, it may happen that a Corona test cannot be evaluated. Inconclusive test results can be caused, for example, by faulty test cassettes or by an insufficient amount of sample material. If the test result cannot be evaluated unambiguously, we offer you a free repetition of the Corona test.