Coronavirus tests for Berlin schoolchildren continue

Students at Berlin schools will have to continue to be tested twice a week for a Coronavirus infection.

This was announced by the Administrative Court of Berlin on Friday (May 27, 2022). The testing requirement, which Berlin is the only state to still adhere to, is legal according to the court ruling.

Mandatory testing unobjectionable according to court ruling

The court had previously ruled that there were no serious objections to compulsory testing in schools. It was formally legal and could also be ordered as a protective measure irrespective of an epidemic situation of national significance identified by the Bundestag. The legislature had deliberately given the states leeway.

No unequal treatment of students and employees

There was also no unacceptable unequal treatment of schoolchildren compared to employees in office and administrative buildings, for whom testing was no longer compulsory. It was also not objectionable that vaccinated and recovering students were not exempt from the testing requirement. An infection could not be ruled out simply by vaccination or recovery. The fact that Berlin is now the only federal state to make testing compulsory in schools is also not a violation of the principle of equality in the Basic Law. This only requires equal treatment in the respective area of responsibility of the legislator.