Free Covid testing to be launched on Wednesday

Free antigen testing for Covid-19 is to be launched in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, two days earlier than planned, due to large interest from the public, the government agreed on Monday.

The free Covid testing will be conducted at around 2,000 places, including existing testing centres and doctors’ surgeries. According to Mr Babiš, thousands of GPs and dentists could also be involved to speed up the process.

The testing scheme is due to run until January 15 and people will be allowed to undergo one test in a five-day period. Unlike the standard PCR tests, the antigen tests are faster and logistically easier, but also less accurate.