Germans have to present a negative test result to enter non-essential stores, visit restaurants or bars, or attend small-scale cultural events. The government pays for one free test per person each week, which has led to more than 15,000 businesses offering antigen tests that provide results within 20 minutes. Expand Close German health minister Jens Spahn (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP) / FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsapp German health minister Jens Spahn (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)“There is the suspicion, a very well-founded suspicion after everything I’ve seen, that there’s also been fraud,” Jens Spahn, the country’s health minister, said on Tuesday. The issue has again raised questions of who is accounting for the German government’s spending splurge in response to the pandemic. Mr Spahn said the government had spent about 660 million euros (£569 million) to cover the costs of providing up to 45 million free tests in a month — more than any other country in Europe.

Source: Irish Independent June 01, 2021 13:00 UTC