The Robert Koch Institue (RKI) has additionally redescribed the "case under differential diagnostic clarification". The definition includes the following patient groups:
- Acute respiratory symptoms of any severity with or without fever + stay in regions with COVID-19 cases up to max. 14 days before onset of the disease
- Clinical or radiological evidence of viral pneumonia without alternative diagnosis + without detectable risk of exposure
These cases differ from "justified suspicion" in that a request for a PCR examination for corona viruses does not automatically have to be reported to the public health department. It is only necessary once the suspicion has been confirmed by a positive laboratory result. With this innovation, it is now possible for the first time to test suspected clinical cases that have had no detectable contact with an infected person - without the time-consuming notification to the public health department.