Travelers submitted to over 2.8 million coronavirus access tests this summer

Over 2.8 million appointments for free coronavirus tests were made by people who needed the tests to be able to travel in July and August, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said on Wednesday. Out of the total, 2.55 million appointments were made at a commercial test location using testvoorjereis.nl, and the other appointments were with scheduled at a GGD facility during the summer months.

In the coming month, the GGDs will no longer carry out free travel tests. The tests were intended for travelers who were not fully vaccinated, and for whom a negative coronavirus test is required.

The number of actual tests taken, 2.79 million, is lower than the amount of appointments made because not everyone showed up for the free coronavirus test. PCR tests were taken  most often, 1.66 million times. Another 1.13 million rapid antigen tests were performed

The date when the most appointments were scheduled was Thursday, July 22, when 107,500 people scheduled a test. Free testing was most popular in the Greater Amsterdam region, with 445,000 testing appointments made in July and August.

People who go on a trip can still have themselves tested for free until October 1.

Additionally, 2.4 million free coronavirus self-test kits were ordered from the government using its special website, zelftestenbestellen.nl. Eight million letters with a unique QR code used to order two kits were sent to Dutch households during the last three weeks, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said on Wednesday. Once ordered, the tests are distributed within ten days.

All households were expected to receive the letter by the start of September.