Health Minister Hugo de Jonge has approved two different rapid coronavirus tests which will soon be made available for the public to test themselves. 

First coronavirus home tests available in April

The Ministry of Health hopes the first rapid tests will be delivered in mid-April. The aim is that they will eventually be sold in supermarkets and pharmacies, but the first tests will be delivered to the Ministry of Health to be distributed among teaching staff and students, as well as employers / entrepreneurs for them to test their employees for COVID-19.

The Dutch government hopes the rapid tests will allow for students to be able to test themselves as regularly as once a week, while staff should be able to test themselves preventatively twice a week. In doing so, in-person teaching will be able to resume in higher education. 

Dutch government "bringing the test to the people"

The rapid tests will be manufactured by Roche and Biosynex, who have been directed to include clear and simple instructions for the use of the tests so that they may also be used by anyone without a background in medicine. “By bringing the test to the people instead of the people to the test, we can cut the virus off faster", says De Jonge.