The testing centre will open in Bad Nieuweschans on April 29
The GGD Groningen will open a special rapid test centre at the border crossing with Germany in Bad Nieuweschans on Thursday 29 April. The centre is being built because our the German government has listed the Netherlands as a risk area due its the high number of Coronavirus infections. As reported by RTV Noord.
The centre is intended for people who have ‘urgent private reasons’, says GGD Groningen director Jos Rietveld. “Think of students, interns and carers. It’s not for people who want to go to the supermarket in Germany, or want to fill their cars up there.”
People crossing the border will not have to take a test before proceeding. “It’s a voluntary test. However, travelers who do not use it must have proof that they have tested negative elsewhere. Otherwise they could be fined by the German police”, says Rietveld.
People travelling from the Netherlands now require proof of a negative Coronavirus test with them when they are in Germany. That test can be up to 48 hours old, and until now had to be taken at a commercial testing centre. People who necessarily have to be in Germany therefore had to pay.
Cross-border workers
“This is a service for those people”, says Rietveld. “It is great that they no longer have to pay for their test.” The new centre also provides a solution for people that work in Germany, so that they do not have to pay for a test several times a week.
Six week trial
In principle, the trial will take six weeks, depending on how long Germany considers the Netherlands to be a high-risk area. People can go to the test centre between 08:00 and 15:30, daily. Rietveld expects a few dozen people to use it every day.
