The GGDs receive help from commercial test providers to meet the enormous demand for corona tests. GGD GHOR Nederland will definitively collaborate with the Open Netherlands Foundation (SON), the umbrella organization confirms. In regions where the GGD is too busy, people can alternatively turn to a commercial tester.
Now that the omikron variant is dominant in the Netherlands and causes many infections, much more is being tested. The GGDs cannot meet the demand for tests at the moment. The current test demand is increasing weekly: more than during the peak of the earlier delta variant. The GGD test locations work with PCR tests (nose and throat), but that capacity is limited to approximately 150,000 tests.
Wait times are increasing in some regions. At some GGD test locations there were long lines at the door or people had to travel far to be able to test quickly.
Antigen Testing
That is why the commercial providers that are affiliated with SON, the organization behind Testing for Access, step in. They will supply additional capacity from the beginning of next week.
In regions where it is very busy, the commercial test providers will support the GGD. They work with antigen tests that have been approved by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Via Testing for Access, people can be tested for a green tick in the CoronaCheck app. This allows them to go to places where such a corona ticket is mandatory. A total of 26 providers are connected to the system, with a combined test capacity of about 600,000 tests per day.
Appointment
Making a test appointment will continue to be done in the same way: via coronatest.nl or the national corona test appointment number of the GGDs (0800-1202). If it turns out when making the appointment that a GGD no longer has a place in a certain region, the option to choose another test provider will automatically appear. It is always possible to make an appointment with the GGDs.
In the meantime, the GGDs continue to recruit new staff, extend the opening hours of locations and open new test locations.
Watch our most viewed news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
#Commercial #test #providers #rescue #overburdened #GGDs