Brussels Airport will carry out four times more coronavirus tests at its testing centre from Friday, the private laboratory Eurofins announced on Thursday.
The Airport is ramping up its capacity from 2,000 to 8,000 tests per day in support of new measures for taken by Belgium’s Consultative Committee. Those measures include a mandatory PCR test on day 1 and 7 after return to Belgium.
The airport will be increasing its testing capacity from 125 to 300 tests per hour on Friday, and will add a testing centre in the arrivals hall from Saturday and a drive-in facility next week, it said in a press release.
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“It is not an easy task to realise this increase in capacity on such short notice during a holiday period, but the airport has been prioritising the safety and health of its passengers since the beginning of the crisis and is doing everything in its power to achieve this as soon as possible,” the airport said.
The tests are free for passengers returning from a red zone who have Belgian insurance. Those who do not have Belgian insurance will be charged €46.81, and results will be available after 48 to 72 hours.
Since midnight on Wednesday night, people returning to Belgium after having spent more than 48 hours abroad must quarantine. Read more about the new measures here.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
