While Hertha BSC will probably be able to rely on striker Stevan Jovetic in the capital derby at 1. FC Union , the Eisernen will have to do without Kevin Behrens, who also tested positive for Corona recently. However, Union’s attacker could not only miss the duel with their local rivals.
The Montenegrin Jovetic – doubly vaccinated and symptom-free – had tested positive for the Coronavirus during his trip to the national team the previous week, but has since been cleared. The situation is different for Union’s Behrens, whose positive Corona test was confirmed by his club on Tuesday.
Unlike Jovetic, the 30-year-old, who joined the Köpenickers on a free transfer from second-division club SV Sandhausen in the summer, “clearly has symptoms “, as Union manager Oliver Ruhnert confirmed on Tuesday. In such a case, the time at which one can test free is delayed.
Our doctors say it makes sense for them to do a PCR test at the earliest two days after the symptoms have subsided.
While a vaccinated person with no symptoms can leave quarantine no sooner than five days after the initial positive (upon presentation of a negative PCR test), vaccinated people with symptoms must first be recovered. “People who have been vaccinated and are symptomatic can be exempted after being symptom-free for at least five days. These are special cases that are at the discretion of the health department. We follow the recommendations of the RKI,” says Alexander Freier, the health councillor of Berlin’s Treptow-Köpenick district.
But something else is more decisive: the vaccination status. As with all the other players, Union does not provide any information on Behrens’ vaccination status. However, only those who have been vaccinated are allowed to test at all. “Unvaccinated people who test positive have to spend at least 14 days in quarantine. There is basically no way to test free – regardless of whether they show symptoms or not,” emphasises Health Councillor Freier.
According to the SPD politician, an unvaccinated person cannot be tested free even if they are symptom-free again after a few days. At least that is how it is handled in his area of responsibility, he said. “We talk all the time about the fact that unvaccinated people are a big part of why we are in the situation we are in at the moment. We don’t have to accommodate the unvaccinated on top of that,” says Freier.
Will Behrens miss three games?
If Behrens is unvaccinated, the earliest he could be available to Union would probably be after the away game at Eintracht Frankfurt in a week and a half. The centre-forward would then have missed three games. However, if Behrens, who is in domestic quarantine, is vaccinated, he could theoretically be an option for the trip to next week’s Europa Conference League group match at Maccabi Haifa if he recovers quickly. However, the quarantine and testing requirements would make that a very ambitious undertaking. “It’s going to be tight,” Ruhnert also says, explaining, “Our doctors say it doesn’t make sense for them to do a PCR test until two days after the symptoms have subsided at the earliest. “
Behrens’ teammate Marvin Friedrich, who had tested positive for Corona in mid-October, had shown symptoms of a cold at the time and was able to take the test off after some time, as the defender has been vaccinated. However, Friedrich was also absent for over a week.