Travelers at Schiphol receive a free COVID-19 self-test upon arrival. Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health, Welfare and Sport) recently attended the handing out at one of the gates. Employees of the GGD will be handing out self-tests all summer at Schiphol, at Eindhoven Airport and at Rotterdam The Hague Airport. The cabinet calls on people to test themselves when they return from vacation, before they go back to work, go to school or meet people. This way we reduce the chance of spreading the virus further.
Self-tests are ideal for this. To encourage the use of self-tests, they are distributed free of charge at airports. In case of a positive result from the self-test, it is recommended to report to the GGD afterwards. People with complaints and young people up to the age of 27 - even without complaints - can report directly to the GGD for a corona test.
Arriving travelers can pick up the self-test just before the baggage carousels. There are also two counters in the arrivals hall where everyone can pick up a self-test. For a number of flights, GGD Kennemerland is right at the gate to hand out self-tests. In addition to Minister De Jonge, Harm Balder, the head of infectious disease control of the GGD Kennemerland, was also present at Schiphol to hand out the tests.
“We call on everyone to test themselves after the holidays. Only in this way can we avoid unintentionally bringing corona to family, work, school, internship and college in these times with such contagious variants and high infection rates. With a little effort you can help prevent infections from becoming hot spots."
Test, test, test
You use a self-test to be sure. For example, if you go to work, want to visit friends or if you have been to a place where many other people were. In the course of the summer, all Dutch people will receive a letter about the importance of testing after vacation. They also have the opportunity to order self-tests free of charge. Pupils and students can also get free self-tests to test themselves in the first weeks of the school year. The cabinet has also donated self-tests to the Food Bank NL and the Poverty Fund.
Doing a self-test at home after arrival is also necessary if you have already been (fully) vaccinated. People who have been tested before their trip are also advised to do a self-test when they return home. An infection may have occurred in the time between taking the test and arriving in the Netherlands.
People take a self-test at home. If the result is positive, it is important that they have the result confirmed at the GGD. A self-test is less reliable than the test at the GGD test location. As a result, there is a chance that the positive result of the self-test is a false alarm. People with complaints should always have themselves tested at the GGD. Young people up to the age of 27 can also have themselves tested immediately after the holiday at the GGD without complaints, according to the National government.