Austria rolls out free in-home coronavirus self-testing

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-25 20:18:54|Editor: huaxia
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VIENNA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Austria will start to offer free in-home coronavirus self-testing next week as part of its "testing offensive" against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Austrian government has said.

Starting from next week, people aged 15 and over can obtain test-kits for free from pharmacies taking part in this program by showing an e-card or a social security number, according to a government press release published Wednesday by the Austrian Press Agency.

It said that the plan will provide up to five free tests per person per month.

Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said Thursday that the free self-tests are "another important component in fighting the pandemic."

"Especially when we want to see our loved ones and relatives, we create an additional opportunity to bring some normalcy back into our everyday life in the pandemic," he tweeted.

In an interview published online on Wednesday by German newspaper Bild, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Austria has reopened schools, shops and service providers based on its "test concept."

"We are relying very heavily on the test concept," he said. "This means that in our little Austria, with less than ten million inhabitants, we carry out over 2.5 million tests every week, which means that around a quarter of our population is tested weekly."

Testing is not "a panacea," but "with a lot of tests there is a bit more freedom," he said. Enditem

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