Senator hands over first lollipop tests to daycare center

Astrid-Sabine Busse (left), Senator for Education, Youth and Families, shows boxes of PoC antigen lollipop tests next to Katrin Dorgeist, commercial manager of Kindergartens North East of Berlin.

Berlin's Senator for Families, Astrid-Sabine Busse, handed over the first Coronavirus lollipop tests to a Berlin daycare center in Pankow on Friday (Jan. 21, 2022).

Mandatory testing in daycare centers from Monday

"The lollipop tests are easier to use and therefore more child-friendly," the Senator stated. "This is another important step in protecting children." Busse was accompanied by several mascots from Berlin's professional sports clubs when she visited the daycare center on Selma-Lagerlöf-Straße. Officially, mandatory testing for children over the age of one will begin at daycare facilities in Berlin next Monday.

Because not all daycare centers are expected to be equipped with lollipop tests by then, the Senate has granted a transitional phase until January 31. From then on at the latest, children in the facilities must be tested for the Coronavirus three times a week. "Monday is mandatory, the other two days are determined by the daycare center," the Senate Department announced.

Three tests per week for children in daycare

In principle, parents should test their children at home before they go to daycare. They must then sign to confirm that the test was negative. However, the daycare center can also determine that the tests are carried out on individual days by the parents at the daycare center.