Massive demand for Covid tests; Health service lines overloaded
3 years, 1 month ago

Massive demand for Covid tests; Health service lines overloaded

NL Times  

The demand for Covid-19 tests is sky-high in the Netherlands at the moment. Health service GGD asked people on Twitter to rather use the online portal to book a test or check results, as their phone lines are overloaded. Another 75,000 appointments were scheduled for Tuesday, and the GGD is making 200 to 300 new appointments per minute, the health service said to the broadcaster. Last week, the number of test appointments also increased every day in a row to a total of about 405.000 tests done last week. We are currently seeing a movement in the total tests done similar to the peaks in December 2020 and February/March 2021," the GGD said.

Health Tests Nos Covid Test Ggd  covid  test  nos  lines  demand  tests  overloaded  appointments  week  stores  health  massive  ggd  online  service  selftests

History of this topic

Government announces more COVID-19 tests can be ordered through mail for no cost
4 months ago

Government announces more COVID-19 tests can be ordered through mail for no cost

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — On the heels of a summer wave of COVID-19 cases, Americans will be able to get free virus test kits mailed to their homes, starting in late September. U.S. households will be able to order up to four COVID-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the website, COVIDtests.gov. The announcement also comes as the …

Covid-19: US households will be able to order more free tests starting Monday
1 year, 3 months ago

Covid-19: US households will be able to order more free tests starting Monday

CNN  

CNN — The US government will relaunch a program to provide free Covid-19 home tests to Americans, US Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday. Becerra said HHS’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response “has been resupplying our stockpile.” The tests coming available soon are intended for use through the end of 2023 and will include instructions on how …

U.S. announces $600 million to produce COVID tests and will reopen website for orders
1 year, 3 months ago

U.S. announces $600 million to produce COVID tests and will reopen website for orders

LA Times  

The Biden administration is providing $600 million to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is resurrecting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household. The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up …

Positive Covid continues to fall as fewer people get tested
2 years, 7 months ago

Positive Covid continues to fall as fewer people get tested

NL Times  

The number of positive coronavirus tests fell again last week. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment registered 10,596 between Tuesday morning last week and Tuesday morning this week. The percentage of people who test positive after visiting a GGD testing site also fell between March 21 and April 18, from 62.4 percent positive tests to 55 percent. …

Covid hospital total rockets up to 1,920 as infections taper off
2 years, 9 months ago

Covid hospital total rockets up to 1,920 as infections taper off

NL Times  

Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 1,920 patients with Covid-19 on Monday, the highest total since December 29. The patient total jumped by 146 since Sunday afternoon, a net increase of 8 percent after accounting for new admissions, discharges and deaths. Coronavirus infections quickly began to rise sharply at the start of March, but preliminary data suggests that the increase …

Weekly Covid hospitalizations at highest point in 52 days; 60,200 new infections
2 years, 10 months ago

Weekly Covid hospitalizations at highest point in 52 days; 60,200 new infections

NL Times  

On average, hospitals admitted 199 new Covid-19 patients each of the past seven days, up 4 percent in a week. Hospitals admitted 163 patients with the disease in the past 24 hours, including 11 sent directly to intensive care. Some 60,227 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Saturday and Sunday morning, the lowest total reported by the RIVM …

39,500 positive Covid tests but 122,000 go uncounted; Over 50% tested by GGD are infected
2 years, 10 months ago

39,500 positive Covid tests but 122,000 go uncounted; Over 50% tested by GGD are infected

NL Times  

Over 39,500 coronavirus infections were reported in the Netherlands on Saturday, the lowest total in 10 days––but at least 46,000 positive tests diagnosed since Friday morning have not been registered in the systems of the RIVM. Saturday’s underreporting from the RIVM brought the official seven-day moving average down slightly to 60,181, still 60 percent higher compared to a week ago. …

Some people turned away from Covid test sites this morning
2 years, 10 months ago

Some people turned away from Covid test sites this morning

NL Times  

Some commercial Covid-19 testing companies turned away people referred by health service GGD on Friday morning. So they agreed that the GGDs would refer people they couldn't test to commercial providers affiliated with Testing for Access. AD got similar statements from Covid Test Nederland, who tested only 37 people sent by the GGD in two days. According to the newspaper, …

60 million households have requested free Covid-19 rapid tests, White House says
2 years, 10 months ago

60 million households have requested free Covid-19 rapid tests, White House says

CNN  

CNN — The White House said on Friday some 60 million households have requested free Covid-19 rapid tests so far, with tens of millions tests having “gone out the door” as part of the Biden administration’s program to mail more than half a billion rapid tests to Americans around the country. White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told …

Commercial test centres may help regional health boards meet demand
2 years, 11 months ago

Commercial test centres may help regional health boards meet demand

Dutch News  

Commercial coronavirus testing centres will carry out tests on behalf of the regional health boards if they become overloaded as the Omicron variant takes hold, broadcaster NOS reported on Wednesday. Pier Eringa, chief executive of the test for entry organisation Stichting Open Nederland, told the broadcaster that an agreement with the regional health board association GGD is on the verge …

Commercial test centres may help regional health boards meet demand
2 years, 11 months ago

Commercial test centres may help regional health boards meet demand

Dutch News  

Commercial coronavirus testing centres will carry out tests on behalf of the regional health boards if they become overloaded as the Omicron variant takes hold, broadcaster NOS reported on Wednesday. Pier Eringa, chief executive of the test for entry organisation Stichting Open Nederland, told the broadcaster that an agreement with the regional health board association GGD is on the verge …

Home COVID tests to be covered by insurers starting Saturday
2 years, 11 months ago

Home COVID tests to be covered by insurers starting Saturday

LA Times  

A worker picks up two at-home COVID-19 test kits to be handed out during a distribution event in Youngstown, Ohio, on Dec. 30. Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. “By requiring private health plans to cover people’s at-home tests, we are further expanding …

Covid-19 cases surge around world, raising testing and quarantine fears
2 years, 11 months ago

Covid-19 cases surge around world, raising testing and quarantine fears

Live Mint  

Daily Covid-19 infections have hit record highs in the United States, swathes of Europe and Australia as the new Omicron variant of the virus races out of control, keeping workers at home and overwhelming testing centres. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country needed "a gear change" to manage overburdened laboratories, with long walk-in and drive-in queues reported in …

COVID-19 queues are depriving this cancer patient of precious time — and he wants PCR postal testing introduced
3 years ago

COVID-19 queues are depriving this cancer patient of precious time — and he wants PCR postal testing introduced

ABC  

Twice a fortnight, Philip Griffin attends Flinders Cancer Clinic for his chemotherapy treatment. Key points: While COVID-19 PCR testing is an imposition, it is especially so for cancer patients such Philip Griffin The former head of plastic surgery at Flinders Medical Centre says a postal method should be considered Health authorities have outlined measures to expedite testing in South Australia …

Finding a Covid-19 test is a struggle right now in the US as Omicron and holiday plans collide
3 years ago

Finding a Covid-19 test is a struggle right now in the US as Omicron and holiday plans collide

CNN  

CNN — With coronavirus cases surging once again, frustrated Americans are struggling to get tested days before Christmas as long lines and increased demand overwhelm some facilities across the country. People who have been previously infected with Covid-19 and remain unvaccinated “should not assume that have protection against Omicron,” US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Tuesday. As to whether …

Covid-19 tests get harder to find as omicron variant spreads
3 years ago

Covid-19 tests get harder to find as omicron variant spreads

Live Mint  

Waiting times for Covid-19 tests are growing in parts of the U.S. as concerns over the Omicron variant, new infections and the coming holidays drive up demand. Many laboratories are still processing tests within a day or two and have the capacity to meet the heightened demand, said lab operators and pharmacies. Officials in New York City, where lines stretched …

New hurdle for COVID-19 home testing -- the holiday season
3 years, 1 month ago

New hurdle for COVID-19 home testing -- the holiday season

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Millions more home tests for COVID-19 are hitting store shelves, but will there be enough for Americans hoping to screen themselves before holiday gatherings? White House officials say the U.S. is on pace to have about 200 million home tests per month by December, quadrupling the number from this summer. Market leader Abbott says it is back to …

As Delta variant surges, so does demand for at-home covid-19 tests
3 years, 3 months ago

As Delta variant surges, so does demand for at-home covid-19 tests

Live Mint  

Demand for at-home Covid-19 tests has risen sharply in recent weeks as the Delta variant surges across the U.S., causing test makers to scramble to keep pace. Much of the Covid-19 diagnostic testing in the U.S. has involved not antigen tests but molecular tests, which detect the virus’s genetic material and typically are processed by laboratories—a more time-consuming process. Demand …

More than 11,000 coronavirus cases, highest daily number since Christmas
3 years, 5 months ago

More than 11,000 coronavirus cases, highest daily number since Christmas

Dutch News  

More than 11,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed by the public health agency RIVM for the first time since Christmas, but the growth rate is slowing down. Today’s figure of 11,064 is twice as high as a week ago, but over the last seven days cases rose by an average of 445%, according to the RIVM’s figures. Rotterdam’s local health service …

More than 11,000 coronavirus cases, highest daily number since Christmas
3 years, 5 months ago

More than 11,000 coronavirus cases, highest daily number since Christmas

Dutch News  

More than 11,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed by the public health agency RIVM for the first time since Christmas, but the growth rate is slowing down. Today’s figure of 11,064 is twice as high as a week ago, but over the last seven days cases rose by an average of 445%, according to the RIVM’s figures. Rotterdam’s local health service …

Positive coronavirus tests soar to 5,475 as ministers ponder tighter rules
3 years, 5 months ago

Positive coronavirus tests soar to 5,475 as ministers ponder tighter rules

Dutch News  

The number of positive coronavirus tests soared to 5,475 in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, leaving the government considering bringing back some of the measures which were abandoned last month. Although the rise in positive tests has not yet translated into an increase in hospital admissions, ‘things are going fast’, health minister Hugo de Jonge said in an initial …

Positive coronavirus tests soar to 5,475 as ministers ponder tighter rules
3 years, 5 months ago

Positive coronavirus tests soar to 5,475 as ministers ponder tighter rules

Dutch News  

The number of positive coronavirus tests soared to 5,475 in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, leaving the government considering bringing back some of the measures which were abandoned last month. Although the rise in positive tests has not yet translated into an increase in hospital admissions, ‘things are going fast’, health minister Hugo de Jonge said in an initial …

GGD testing capacities strained, people advised to book appointments via phone
3 years, 5 months ago

GGD testing capacities strained, people advised to book appointments via phone

NL Times  

A growing number of GGD coronavirus test centers in the Netherlands have become busy to a point that coronavirus tests cannot be booked within a reasonable amount of time, Parool reported on Thursday. People's experiences "make it clear that GGD test streets throughout the Netherlands are full and many people cannot get a test. So if there is more need …

Testing fails to keep up as caseload soars
3 years, 7 months ago

Testing fails to keep up as caseload soars

Live Mint  

India’s covid-19 testing capacity has less than doubled in the past month, even as daily cases have jumped sixfold, a Mint analysis of government data shows. The slow growth in testing, along with an increased infection rate, has bumped up India’s overall positivity rate to an all-time high of 20% as of Monday, from 4% a month ago. Source: Covid19india …

Overwhelming number of Covid tests send labs on the edge, results delayed by three days in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow
3 years, 8 months ago

Overwhelming number of Covid tests send labs on the edge, results delayed by three days in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow

India Today  

With skyrocketing cases of coronavirus across the country, many major cities are suffering from unprecedented delays in the Covid-19 test results. MUMBAI WORST-HIT Mumbai turns out to be the worst hit among these three cities with a waiting period of three days and even more in some cases for a Covid test report. The situation was so frustrating that I …

Covid-19 self-test not 100% accurate, authorities warn
3 years, 8 months ago

Covid-19 self-test not 100% accurate, authorities warn

NL Times  

Experts are worried that self-administered coronavirus tests do not accurately indicate if someone has an active infection of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Rapid tests have become increasingly popular in the Netherlands since they became available in stores at the end of March. Health authorities expressed their concern that people may become more likely to disregard coronavirus measures based on an incorrect …

Decline in coronavirus infections continues to slow
4 years, 1 month ago

Decline in coronavirus infections continues to slow

Dutch News  

The drop in coronavirus infections has almost ground to a halt in the last seven days, latest figures from the public health agency RIVM show. Another 5,214 cases were reported in the 24 hours to 10am on Monday, 182 fewer than Sunday’s figure but 8% higher than the number recorded a week earlier. Over the past 7 days the number …

Spike in Covid-19 tests last week
4 years, 1 month ago

Spike in Covid-19 tests last week

NL Times  

Over 25 thousand more people scheduled their own test for a SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection last week compared to the previous week. The organization has carried out almost 2.2 million tests since then, and 4.1 million tests since June 1, the date in which testing was made available to the general public. The rate in which people last week tested positive …

Dutch Covid testing to expand to include some without symptoms
4 years, 1 month ago

Dutch Covid testing to expand to include some without symptoms

NL Times  

Coronavirus testing in the Netherlands will soon expand to also include some groups with no symptoms - close contacts of infected people, incoming travelers from Covid-19 hot spots, and people notified that they were in contact with a Covid-19 patient through the CoronaMelder app, Sjaak de Gouw, director of municipal health service GGD, said to newspaper AD. Recent advice from …

GP's under pressure due to sick employees; GGD not sharing Covid test results
4 years, 2 months ago

GP's under pressure due to sick employees; GGD not sharing Covid test results

NL Times  

Some 60 percent of GP practices in the Netherlands are struggling with staff shortages as sick employees wait at home for the results of their coronavirus tests, the national association for general practitioners LHV said based on a survey of 2,500 GPs. The association is also concerned by the fact that health service GGDs are now so overloaded by the …

Millions More Virus Rapid Tests, But Are Results Reported?
4 years, 2 months ago

Millions More Virus Rapid Tests, But Are Results Reported?

News 18  

After struggling to ramp up coronavirus testing, the U.S. can now screen several million people daily, thanks to a growing supply of rapid tests. But state health officials say many rapid tests are going unreported, which means some new COVID-19 infections may not be counted. The federal government is shipping more than 100 million of the newest rapid tests to …

Covid testing to expand to 80,000 per day by end December; No test center at Schiphol
4 years, 2 months ago

Covid testing to expand to 80,000 per day by end December; No test center at Schiphol

NL Times  

Health service GGD plans to scale up its coronavirus testing capacity significantly in the coming months, aiming for 80 thousand tests per day by the end of this year. Currently the health services are able to do up to 2 thousand such traces per day, much less than the current infection level of over 6 thousand positive tests per day. …

Covid testing capacity expanded to 51,000 tests per day; Health services not ready
4 years, 2 months ago

Covid testing capacity expanded to 51,000 tests per day; Health services not ready

NL Times  

Laboratory capacity in the Netherlands has been expanded. The labs now have sufficient test materials to perform over 51 thousand Covid-19 tests per day, an increase of 20 thousand tests per day compared to last week. The aim is as quickly as possible, but it is a mega operation," a spokesperson for GGD GHOR Nederland, the umbrella organization for the …

Coronavirus test shortage to be resolved from Monday
4 years, 2 months ago

Coronavirus test shortage to be resolved from Monday

NL Times  

The Dutch government will be able to remedy the month-long shortage of coronavirus test capacity by Monday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport told newswire ANP. The Netherlands will be able to perform 395 thousand tests per week, or an average of about 56,400 tests daily, nearly doubling the current capacity. The spokesperson told the newswire …

Coronavirus test? The appointment book is full at most drive in centres
4 years, 3 months ago

Coronavirus test? The appointment book is full at most drive in centres

Dutch News  

In total, 86 of the 100 coronavirus test centres in the Netherlands have no space for new appointments, as an increasing number of people queue up to get tested, the central public health board said on Thursday afternoon. Just four locations have sufficient availability in the coming 48 hours and a further 10 are virtually fully booked, the GGD is …

Call center to book Covid test overloaded
4 years, 3 months ago

Call center to book Covid test overloaded

NL Times  

The GGD call center through which Netherlands residents can book an appointment to be tested for the coronavirus, is currently overloaded. "There are so many people calling who want a test," a spokesperson for the health service said to the broadcaster. According to the spokesperson, the busy lines are caused by people making multiple calls to the call center. "Many …

Dutch health service buckling under Covid testing pressure
4 years, 3 months ago

Dutch health service buckling under Covid testing pressure

NL Times  

Dutch munipal health service GGD said it was growing more and more difficult for people in the Netherlands to get tested for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus within two days of contacting the organization. The announcement came just hours after Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said he closed a deal with a German organization to provide between 2 and 5 thousand …

Decline in COVID-19 Positivity Rate Despite Increasing Tests Exponentially: Health Ministry
4 years, 4 months ago

Decline in COVID-19 Positivity Rate Despite Increasing Tests Exponentially: Health Ministry

News 18  

The Health Ministry on Tuesday said though testing for COVID-19 has been increased exponentially, there has been a steady decline in the positivity rate and highlighted that the number of active cases of the infection reduced by 6,423 for the first time within a span of 24 hours. The testing for the disease has been increased from 363 tests per …

Covid tests spike to record high; Get tested only with symptoms: GGD
4 years, 4 months ago

Covid tests spike to record high; Get tested only with symptoms: GGD

NL Times  

The number of people who booked an appointment to be tested for the coronavirus last week increased by 40 percent compared to the week before. But the regional GGD health services reported testing many people with no symptoms, putting extra pressure on the already overworked staff, the Ministry of Public Health said on Monday. "In order to make optimal use …

Govt to Review Guidelines to See if 'On-demand' Testing of Covid-19 Can be Allowed
4 years, 4 months ago

Govt to Review Guidelines to See if 'On-demand' Testing of Covid-19 Can be Allowed

News 18  

With nearly nine lakh COVID-19 tests being held per day, the government on Tuesday said it would review the guidelines for testing to see if it can be made available on an on-demand basis for the people. Responding to a question on why on-demand testing is not being implemented for those who are willing to pay for it even as …

Centre Asks States to Not Get 'Overawed' by Rise in Daily Covid-19 Cases, Test Aggressively
4 years, 4 months ago

Centre Asks States to Not Get 'Overawed' by Rise in Daily Covid-19 Cases, Test Aggressively

News 18  

Amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday asked states to not get "overawed" by the rise in the number of infections but focus on aggressive testing, comprehensive tracing and tracking and efficient treatment of patients. At a press briefing, Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said active cases, which comprised 88.83 per cent of the total …

Slight decrease in Covid-19 tests done last week
4 years, 4 months ago

Slight decrease in Covid-19 tests done last week

NL Times  

A total of 98,978 people were tested for the coronavirus by municipal health service GGD between August 3 and 9, compared to over 100 thousand tests in the week before. The GGD health services therefore sounded the alarm and called on Netherlands residents to have themselves tested if they have any symptoms that could indicate Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused …

Technical glitch delayed Covid-19 test results; GGD apologizes
4 years, 4 months ago

Technical glitch delayed Covid-19 test results; GGD apologizes

NL Times  

A technical issue resulted in around 7,300 people having to wait longer than 48 hours for their Covid-19 test results this week, GGD GHOR, the umbrella organization for the GGD health services, said on Wednesday. "GGD GHOR Nederland deeply regrets that these people spent longer than desired in uncertainty about whether they had been infected with the coronavirus," the organization …

Another Covid-19 test shortage may be looming for the Netherlands
4 years, 4 months ago

Another Covid-19 test shortage may be looming for the Netherlands

NL Times  

The Netherlands may well face a new shortage of coronavirus tests in the autumn, according to Edwin Boel, project leader of the national coordination team or the diagnostic chain LCDK. Public health institute RIVM expects that some 70 thousand tests per day will have to be done in the autumn, partly because more people with have cold and flu-like symptoms …

Rapid increase of test requests continues, GGD upscale can’t lessen longer wait times
4 years, 4 months ago

Rapid increase of test requests continues, GGD upscale can’t lessen longer wait times

NL Times  

The number of new requests for a coronavirus test in the Netherlands increased by around a thousand a day this past week. Many people complained about waiting long for test results, because the longer they wait for the results, the longer they can’t go out. According to GGD-GHOR, a main problem is that the call center team that makes the …

Rapid increase in Covid-19 infections caught health service by surprise
4 years, 5 months ago

Rapid increase in Covid-19 infections caught health service by surprise

NL Times  

Health service GGD was caught a bit off guard by the sudden increase in coronavirus infections, Sjaak de Gouw of the health service said to Trouw. In June, an average of 8 thousand people per day called the GGD hotline to book a coronavirus test. "That there are suddenly so many tests surprised and worries us," De Gouw said "All …

Sudden increase in requests for Covid-19 tests
4 years, 5 months ago

Sudden increase in requests for Covid-19 tests

NL Times  

Over the past days, the number of Netherlands residents asking to be tested for the coronavirus increased surprisingly fast. On Thursday the central hotline for requesting a Covid-19 test saw calls increase by 40 percent, and on Sunday by 74 percent, the Volkskrant reports. "In recent weeks, people who called could often go to one of the test locations on …

Coronavirus | Ramp up COVID-19 testing, Health Ministry tells States, UTs
4 years, 5 months ago

Coronavirus | Ramp up COVID-19 testing, Health Ministry tells States, UTs

The Hindu  

The total number of people being tested for COVID-19 in the country would soon touch one crore, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. “This shall effectively take COVID-19 tests to the people’s doorsteps in high incidence areas to collect samples of all symptomatic individuals as well as their contacts, and get those samples tested by using rapid antigen tests,” the …

Covid-19 in ICUs down slightly; Test results sometimes very delayed
4 years, 6 months ago

Covid-19 in ICUs down slightly; Test results sometimes very delayed

NL Times  

With reporting by Jamie de Geir. Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 77 people with Covid-19 in their intensive care units on Thursday, a decrease of three, patient coordination office LCPS said. Meanwhile, municipal health organization GGD has booked a 100 thousand appointments for members of the public to get tested for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus strain that leads to Covid-19. …

Discover Related