Online portal for Covid-19 test bookings, results launches today

The Dutch government launched a website on Wednesday through which Netherlands residents can book an appointment to be tested for the coronavirus, and also see their results. The idea is to lower the threshold for getting tested - until now, Netherlands residents who developed symptoms had to call the GGD call center to book a test.

Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health announced this online portal last week. Netherlands residents will have to log in with their DigiD and enter their postal code to make an appointment, according to NOS. They will then be given up to three times and test locations in the area to chose from. 

By making it easier to get tested and see your results, the government hopes to also make the time between contamination and source and contact research as short as possible. On Tuesday, Jaap van Dissel of the RIVM told parliament that around 70 percent of people contacted through source and contact tracing already have symptoms when the GGD health center called them. 

The website will be managed by GGD GHOR Nederland, the umbrella organization for the GGD health services. The GGDs are currently responsible for the vast majority of coronavirus tests and subsequent source and contact tracing. The GGD call center will remain open and staffed. The number of employees at the call center will not be reduced now that the website is launched. "Making an appointment online is really an addition for people who prefer not to call," a spokesperson for GGD GHOR said to NOS.