Introduction

Since March 2021, Germany has been offering cost-free tests for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and negative test results have become a prerequisite for various day-to-day activities following the lockdowns.

Goals

We aimed to understand the usage patterns of tests and explore any connections with mitigation measures. Additionally, we sought to correlate this data with the results of a user survey.

Materials & Methods

We analyzed over 50,000 anonymized records from eight test centers in the typical medium-sized city of Bamberg with one of them remaining open continuously from March until December 2021. We gathered data about the motivations of 1,347 participants through a user survey conducted over a ten-week period in summer 2021. Participants were recruited via the online booking system, regional and social media, and requests in the test centers.

Results

The actual user data revealed that distinct patterns of visitor types were tested in the different test centers and the majority tested only once. Individuals who underwent repeated testing tended to favor the same location. A preference for spontaneous testing grew in proportion to the availability of spare tests. Compared to the local demographic visitors aged 18 to 30 years were distinctly overrepresented. A negative binominal model showed that implemented mitigation measures had an impact on the number of tests conducted. In the survey, most frequently cited motivations were visits with family and friends, access to gastronomy, shopping & culture, and tourism. In contrast to the actual individuals tested, most participants of the survey used the tests more than once, although not regularly.

Summary

On the one hand, actual user data demonstrate that test centers were rarely used for regular testing but rather for meeting requirements of certified tests. On the other hand, most participants of the survey have been tested several times and indicated as one main motivation for testing meetings with family and friends. This emphasizes the strength and bias of surveys and the importance of analysis of actual data.