German labs boost coronavirus test capacity to 700,000 per week

German labs have increased their weekly coronavirus testing capacity to about 700,000, up from 640,000 a week earlier, a trade group said on Tuesday, after the country's main public health institution called for wider testing.

The association of accredited laboratories in Germany, ALM, said in a statement on Tuesday that a total of about 292,000 tests were carried out in Germany last week, up from about 268,000 in the previous week, citing a survey of 116 German labs.

Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases on Friday widened its recommendation for who should be tested for the virus to include anyone with symptoms of respiratory infections regardless of previous contact with a known COVID-19 case.