As of today, anyone who wants to be officially tested for corona can only do so in the RAI. The GGD has closed the location at Buikslotermeerplein and the test buses on the street have also disappeared. The reason is that there are only a few to dozens of test requests per day.
“No, I never test,” says an Amsterdammer on the street. He is not the only one: after a small survey, many people in Amsterdam no longer test, even if they have complaints. And they also notice this at the GGD. Few people visit the test locations. “And as a result, it is no longer necessary to keep up so much capacity,” explains Sophie Ouadhiri-Thio, deputy main team corona at the GGD Amsterdam.
At the end of February, the OMT already advised to stop testing and isolating. They now see corona as an everyday respiratory virus like the flu. Minister Ernst Kuipers of Public Health has yet to adopt the advice, but it is expected that this will happen soon.
“We expect that there will be no spring campaign, so we can adjust the capacity for vaccination downwards,” said Ouadrhiri-Thio. Incidentally, the GGD can scale up again if necessary.
Little enthusiasm for testing
For people who are vulnerable or have difficulty walking, there is the possibility to make an appointment with the GGD by telephone. A team will then visit your home to take a corona test.
Those who want to be officially tested at the GGD can do so at the location in the RAI. However, there are still four vaccination locations in the city where a vaccination for corona can also be obtained without an appointment. These can be found in the RAI in South, Buikslotermeerplein in North, and in Nieuw-West at the district office on Plein ’40-’45 and at Ru Paré.
And although the test locations have been scaled down, the GGD recommends continuing to do a self-test in case of complaints. Amsterdammers on the street, however, have little enthusiasm for this. “When I have a cold, I stay home if it’s really bad. Otherwise I just keep going.”
A man who currently has the flu also says he will not test for corona. “It’s over for me mentally. Because it’s also out of my system to link the complaints with corona.”
