Who should take the test?
People suspected of having COVID-19, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.
And people who are not necessarily suspected of having COVID-19, but who are tested regularly as a preventative measure.
Standard 019/2020 updated the National Testing Strategy for COVID-19 and now recommends screening contacts classified as high risk as well as low risk.
The standard also recommends mass and periodic testing of employees in environments with a higher risk of transmission in the workplace.
How is the test done?
How can I book a test?
There are 2 types of tests approved in Portugal for the diagnosis of COVID-19:
– RT-PCR test
– rapid antigen test
Both tests are carried out using a swab with which a nasopharyngeal sample is taken.
Once the sample has been taken, in the case of the RT-PCR test, it is sent to the laboratory for analysis and the results are obtained within 24 to 72 hours.
In the case of the rapid antigen test, the sample is analyzed at the point of collection and the result is obtained in 15 to 20 minutes, or directly to your email or telephone, usually within 2 to 3 hours.
There are also some cases in which the rapid antigen test is analyzed in a laboratory, simply to speed up the process and the speed of testing.
In these cases, you can expect to receive the result between 12 and 24 hours.
Anyone can choose to be tested for COVID-19 at any time, without a doctor’s prescription, at a private healthcare facility.
To do so, you can make an appointment with SEPRI by calling 932 467 755.
If you want to opt for the test through the National Health Service, you need a test requisition.
After receiving the COVID-19 test requisition, the patient or their representative must:
– Contact the laboratory where you want the COVID-19 test by phone
– Schedule the COVID-19 test
Where to take the test?
You can get tested through the National Health Service or by private means.
By testing with SEPRI, you have 3 places to get tested for COVID-19:
– At our Clinic, located at Rua Dr. Loureiro Amorim, nº7 (opposite the minipreço and near Colégio D. Diogo de Sousa)
– In our Drive Thru, without having to get out of the car (in the Cepsa parking lot, after the station tunnel, on the Braga-Porto bypass)
– At home, through home testing
Companies have also started to implement Periodic Testing Programs in which you can be tested at your workplace.
Ask your employer about the current testing program.
Why test?
Testing for Covid-19 is one of the most important means of preventing and fighting the pandemic.
Through mass and periodic testing of the population, positive cases can be detected quickly and isolated before they trigger chains of transmission.
That’s why, combined with the measures of wearing a mask, social distancing and disinfecting hands and surfaces, testing makes it possible to make places of study, work and socializing safer.
Michael Mina, a Harvard professor, defends the idea of “immunity induced by testing” and, in one of his articles published on the subject, the epidemiologist argues that screening the population is a powerful public health tool.
Bernardo Mateiro Gomes, a public health doctor, also says that “a local, assertive and rapid response” is only possible with the generalization of rapid tests.
