Call later in the day to book a Covid test, health service advises

GGD GHOR Nederland, the umbrella organization for the GGD health services, called on Netherlands residents to wait until later in the day to call for a coronavirus test appointment. The phone lines are always busy in the morning, and by waiting a time, they can avoid having to wait on hold.

"Avoid the Monday morning rush and make an appointment later today if you have symptoms," the organization said on Twitter. "Our employees are available 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m."

On Thursday, demand for Covid-19 testing reached the point that almost no appointments were available. On Friday, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health said that this situation was going to last a while yet. 

According to the Minister, the problem is lab capacity for processing Covid-19 tests and he is working on expanding it.