A runny nose or sore throat? Millions of people have reported these complaints at the gates of the many corona test locations in recent years. As of Saturday, that is definitely a thing of the past. Friday is the last day that GGDs test people for the corona virus. The end of an era, you could say. But what actually happens to all the stuff and the staff?
(Self) testing is no longer necessary, just like closing yourself off from the outside world in the event of a positive result. The cabinet decided this last week because the immune system in the Netherlands is now high and few people become seriously ill from the current corona variants.
This also means that the curtain falls for the corona test locations of the GGD. During the corona crisis, many tens of thousands of people from Brabant were tested there every day, but that time is long gone. At the moment, it is mainly the elderly and people who need a proof of recovery to travel who visit the GGD.
Less staff required
During the corona crisis, the three GGDs in Brabant often opened dozens of test streets in a hurry. Brabant now has seven. At the end of 2020, halls sometimes had more than 20 test streets, but very little of that is now left.
The disappearance of the test lanes automatically means that less staff is needed. In Southeast Brabant, five people are now working full-time on corona tests and thirty on vaccinations. At GGD Hart voor Brabant, that is 75 people, who are also used for HPV vaccinations. In West Brabant, there are a total of 140 employees. They can be deployed flexibly: they can test and vaccinate. These are often people with temporary contracts through employment agencies, so that they can also simply be thanked.
To ensure that test knowledge does not disappear all at once, GGD West-Brabant is asking whether staff would like to join a labor pool of former employees. Then experienced forces are available, as soon as corona unexpectedly rears its head again. In Southeast Brabant and at GGD Hart voor Brabant, test employees will be deployed in the coming period to dismantle test locations.
Giving stuff away
And then the stuff. At the start of the crisis, there were major shortages of throat and nose swabs, face masks and other protective equipment. Now they are in abundance. Many desks and laptops have also been ordered. But the GGDs don’t know exactly how much of what is in the house. There is no central overview.
In any case, GGDs do not necessarily have to store these items somewhere or throw them in the waste container. For example, they can donate these to organizations that receive goods through the national government. Because face masks, for example, have a limited expiration date and cannot be stored indefinitely.
How GGDs deal with this differs. For example, GGD Brabant-Zuidoost has provided many resources to hospitals, practical training courses and emergency aid in Syria and Turkey. Those things were stored for a long time in the XL vaccination in Helmond. GGD West-Brabant is also considering giving away goods.
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