Germany is set to introduce new Covid rules over the next few months, including getting rid of free rapid testing as a way of encouraging people to get vaccinated.
Free rapid tests have been in place for months throughout the country and have been used to grant access to a variety of venues, from theatres to football stadiums.
The widespread availability of these free tests have had the unintended consequence of slowing down the country’s vaccination drive, as many people avoid getting jabbed and stick to the free rapid tests.
However, this will end from 11 October, according to the new rules.
After that, anybody who is not vaccinated will need to pay for a test to access those same venues. The new rules will apply to everyone except pregnant women, children and those exempted from the vaccine on medical grounds.
Germany’s infection rate has almost doubled in the last three weeks, with one in 10 regions now registering infection rates of more than 35 per 100,000 over a seven-day period.
