Greece’s Free Covid-19 Self-tests in Pharmacies as of April 7

Greek Deputy Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis showing the self-test instructions.

The first batch of free Covid-19 self-test kits will be available at pharmacies in Greece as of Wednesday, April 7, Greek Deputy Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis announced on Friday.

Speaking during Friday’s Covid-19 media briefing, Kontozamanis informed that the kits will be distributed first to students and teachers. A negative self-test result will be mandatory for students and teachers to attend classes when schools reopen. The next group of citizens to receive Covid-19 self-test kits will be those aged 18 to 67 and people from 68 and over will follow.

Greece’s Covid-19 self-testing strategy is aimed at detecting asymptomatic coronavirus cases. Participation in the scheme is voluntary and not mandatory.

The Health Ministry issued detailed instructions that explain how citizens can receive the kits and which actions must be taken whether a self-test is positive or negative.

All citizens with an AMKA social security number will be entitled to four tests per month (one test per week). Citizens can get their free self-test kit (with instructions) from a neighborhood pharmacy by showing their AMKA and ID card.

The self-testing procedure must take place at each person’s home and not in pharmacies.

According to the ministry’s instructions, the self-test can be easily performed without the support of a health professional. Adults should assist minors under 12 years of age to take the tests. Minors over 13 years of age should be supervised.

The ministry recommends for citizens to carry out frequent self-tests even if they have not presented Covid-19 symptoms, as one in three carriers of the coronavirus is asymptomatic.

What to do if you test positive or negative In case a person has a positive self-test result, they must register it on the self-testing.gov.gr website and have access to a list of health facilities that can be visited in order to undergo a second free rapid antigen test and for a clinical assessment to follow. Until a person takes his or her second test at a medical facility they and their family should remain at home (quarantine). In case the confirmatory test is positive, the General Secretariat of Civil Protection will contact them for further instructions and begin tracing their contacts.

Negative self-test results do not have to be registered. Only those employed in certain sectors (coastal shipping, retail, F&B, tourism) or part of certain social groups (teachers, students) must register their negative self-test result in a designated section on the self-testing.gov.gr website. For students, the negative test result must be registered by their parent or legal guardian.

Further information (in Greek) can be found here.