Call center to book Covid test overloaded

The GGD call center through which Netherlands residents can book an appointment to be tested for the coronavirus, is currently overloaded. Callers are told that they should call back later, before the connection is terminated, NOS reports.

"There are so many people calling who want a test," a spokesperson for the health service said to the broadcaster. People are also struggling to book an appointment through the website. 

On Tuesday, the GGD released figures showing that people have to wait 1.5 days on average for an appointment to get tested for Covid-19. A quarter of people had to wait longer than 48 hours for their appointment.

According to the health service, this is not caused by a shortage of personnel. "The bottleneck is the limited testing capacity," the GGD spokesperson said to NOS.

According to the spokesperson, the busy lines are caused by people making  multiple calls to the call center. "Many people don't feel like waiting long, so they call back later in the hope that new places have become available."