Online Corona
Test certificates
misleading?
Online Corona
Test certificates
misleading?
from
In times of 3G and 2G+, corona test certificates are a prerequisite for participation in many things. But what are the requirements for corona test certificates and their issuers?
What is it all about?
One company advertised a Corona self-test certificate on its website “for free access for everyone to restaurants, work, buses and trains etc.”. According to the advertising, the certificates should be able to be used anywhere where the 3G or 2G+ rule applies.
The test certificate should be obtained online in three steps:
- Self-test
- Answering a questionnaire
- Sending the test certificate as a PDF file.
Action by the Wettbewerbszentrale against online corona test certificates
After the Wettbewerbszentrale received a number of complaints about this offer, it carried out a trial order for a test certificate. It turned out that the test result provided had not been checked or requested by the provider.
Nevertheless, a doctor issued a test certificate for the result of a self-test. Although there had been no contact with the doctor, she confirmed on the certificate that the person named on the certificate had no symptoms and was not infected with the coronavirus as they had tested negative for the antigen “under my specialist supervision at my doctor’s surgery…”.
The Wettbewerbszentrale successfully took legal action against this before the Hamburg Regional Court (Decision of 7.12.2021 – Ref. 406 HKO 129/21 ).
In the proceedings, the Wettbewerbszentrale objected to the advertising as misleading. It gave the incorrect impression that it was a legally valid test certificate that could be presented wherever proof of testing was required.
However, the Ordinance on Exceptions to Protective Measures stipulates that a valid test certificate must have been carried out or supervised by a healthcare provider. Issuing a test certificate without any contact with a doctor does not meet these requirements.
Furthermore, the advertising was also misleading because, contrary to the information provided, the test was not carried out in a doctor’s surgery or under the supervision of a specialist.
Conclusion
Advertising for corona test certificates that do not comply with the relevant regulations and are therefore not suitable as proof of compliance with the 3G or 2G+ rule is regularly misleading. With such an offer, the public may also expect that it is fulfilling its obligation to test as required by law.
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