The large-format information poster with instructions for visitors to the coronavirus testing station at the Munich Tropical Institute was part of the early pandemic logistics and highlights the contribution of university institutions to coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. By acquiring the poster, the Deutsches Historisches Museum is documenting the organizational challenges surrounding coronavirus testing stations and preserving a piece of recent history.
A team led by PD Dr. med. Camilla Rothe from the Munich Tropical Institute diagnosed the first COVID-19 case in Germany on 27.01.2020 (laboratory detection by the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology). Under the leadership of PD Dr. med. Günter Fröschl, the Tropical Institute (Director: Prof. Michael Hoelscher) set up a COVID-19 test unit in a separate building area of the institute as early as 28.01.2020, probably the first test station in Germany. Following a decision by the Bavarian State Government and in cooperation with the City of Munich, the test capacities were expanded from March 2020 with a tent in the outdoor area of the Tropical Institute. The information poster that has now been handed over to the German Historical Museum was used in this COVID-19 Testing Unit (CTU). By the end of the one-year operation of the test station until March 2021, over 10,000 PCR tests had been carried out in the CTU.
In addition to the current donation to the Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin, other objects from the Tropical Institute from the early days of the pandemic have been added to the collections of the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte (Regensburg) and the Münchner Stadtmuseum.
