Coronavirus lollipop tests in daycares from the end of January

Education Senator Astrid-Sabine Busse

The so-called "lollipop rapid tests" for young children are to be used in Berlin daycare centers from the end of January.

This was announced by Berlin's Senator for Education, Astrid-Sabine Busse (SPD), on Monday (03 January 2022) in the RBB TV program "Abendschau". According to Busse, the Coronavirus lollipop rapid tests, which were ordered in large numbers and are considered easier to handle and more suitable for children, "should arrive in the fourth calendar week".

More frequent testing planned in daycare centers

Parents' representatives have long called for such lollipop tests to be used. Provided that the tests are available in sufficient numbers, daycare children are to be tested three times a week, similar to schoolchildren. According to earlier statements by the education administration, this higher testing frequency will serve to detect and interrupt possible chains of infection at an early stage. Until now, two tests per week have been mandatory for daycare children, which the children's parents could do at home.