It has been busy at the GGD for days, the maximum capacity seems to have been reached. The infections are increasing, many people suffer from flu-like symptoms and so tens of thousands of people try to schedule a test appointment every day.
Snotty and coughing
But that is virtually impossible at the moment, notes Timur Reijnders from Heerlen. “Since yesterday I feel bad. Headache, snotty and coughing. Really symptoms that fit the coronavirus, so I would like to be tested.”
–
–
From pillar to post
Yesterday he tried to make an appointment online. “I kept getting the message: it is currently not possible to schedule an appointment, and that I have to try it by phone.”
So he’s already tried that a few times this morning. “But I just can’t get through. You get to hear a tape in which they say that the line is overloaded, and that there is no point in waiting because no one is going to speak to you. I would not have thought it a problem at 45 minutes waiting, but even that makes no sense.”
–
–
And now? “I like to be careful, so you want to test yourself,” says Timur. “I’ll just stay home for now and hope I can test again later.”
Lots of kids in line
Yesim Candan, who writes weekly columns for RTL Nieuws, has been on the road all morning in Amsterdam to have her son (10) tested. “There is an outbreak at school. Ten children in his class have been infected. All children must now be tested before they can go back to school.”
She had already seen on social media that making a test appointment was impossible. “So I just went to the RAI to have a test done there without an appointment. But it was very busy there, the queue was longer than an hour and a half. It really exploded today, it seems. I also see a lot of children in it. the row.”
–
–
Dress warmly and bring food
She was sent to another test location in Amsterdam, but the waiting time there too was long. Ultimately, it was successful at a test location in Amstelveen.
“We stood in line for over an hour, outside in the cold. It is actually almost impossible to do. I would advise people who also plan to go to a test location without an appointment: dress warmly and take some bring food and drink.”
–
–
‘The rack is out’
Yesterday, the GGD warned that the maximum test capacity has been reached and that they are doing everything they can to meet the explosive demand for test agreements.
“Thousands of employees work hard every day to plan and execute all test requests, but the stretch is out. We are reaching the maximum of our capacity on all sides,” says GGD GHOR. The organization asks people to be patient and understanding about the long waiting times.
Nearly 560,000 tests per week
Currently, the call center employs nearly 4,000 people to schedule test appointments. They clear the queues after closing time and test results are also called through longer in the evenings. Due to the tight labor market, it is currently difficult to hire enough people to cope with the crowds.
Last Monday, more than 91,000 people were tested, which is a new daily record. The old record was set in March 2021 and stood at 89,000 tests. The weekly number of tests is also increasing rapidly. Three weeks ago about 280,000 people were tested, a week later there were about 405,000 and last week almost 560,000.
Limit reached?
Has the maximum test capacity been reached? Outgoing minister Hugo de Jonge said in the corona debate yesterday that the maximum number of tests was 107,000 on Monday. So in the end fewer tests were carried out than what would have been possible. It is not clear why many people cannot go for a test, even though there is capacity.
De Jonge also indicated that the maximum test capacity will be increased to 120,000 tests per day. It is unknown when that number will be attainable.
–
–
Many young children infected
The RIVM announced the new corona week figures yesterday and they do not lie. Never before have we had so many infections in the Netherlands in one week as last week. And what is striking is that many young children test positive:
–
–
