Denmark to drastically expand testing capacity

Huge numbers of corona tests required to ease out of its lockdown

As Denmark begins a very gradual easing of lockdown restrictions it will require a mammoth amount of weekly COVID testing, a demand that will only continue to grow. 

The Danish Agency for Security of Supply (Styrelsen for Forsyningssikkerhed) says that in order to meet the demand beginning this week, Denmark’s testing capacity will undergo a major upgrade.

It says, as of this week, testing sites across Denmark will increase to 209. Correspondingly the daily testing capacity will double from the current 200,000 tests per day to 400,000. 

108 of the testing stations will offer the standard PCR corona test and the other 101 COVID rapid tests. 

For anyone returning to work and for most students over the age of 12 years old who are going back to school, twice a week testing will be strongly encouraged if not mandated outright by the Danish government. 

Agency Director Lisbet Zilmer-Johns says work is underway to set up COVID testing sites at schools. 

“There is a particular focus on the parts of the country where the schools can start opening on Monday.” 

The agency says that until school-based testing facilities are fully up and running, students requiring frequent testing will have to use sites near their school. 

Beginning this week in North and West Jutland alone, tests will be carried out at 70 upper secondary schools and 72 efterskoler beginning today. These numbers can be expected to grow as other areas of Denmark get the go-ahead to reopen.

At the rapid test sites, the roll-out will put to use the ten-million new less invasive testing kits recently purchased by the Danish government.