All Employees in Greece Must Self-test for Covid-19

The Greek government’s Covid-19 self-testing strategy, which aims to detect asymptomatic cases, has expanded to all employees in Greece.

As of Monday, May 24, two self-test kits will be available to all employees in the private sector – free of charge – from local pharmacies. One self-test is for the week May 24-29 and the other is for the week May 31 – June 4. Self-tests are also now available for individuals that are self-employed and have a private business.

It is reminded that until now, specific private sector employees, such as those working in transport and tourism, were obliged to self-test. Moreover, the Covid-19 self-testing strategy had expanded to the whole public sector since April 26.

Procedure

Once a week, before going to work, employees must take their self-test at home and then register the result on the Ergani (national employment monitoring system) online platform that can be accessed through the self-testing.gov.gr website by using their AMKA (social security) number.

It is recommended that employees carry out their self-tests at the beginning of each week, as checks will take place at the end of the week.

If an employee has a negative result, they can go to work as usual after registering it on the Ergani platform.

However, if someone tests positive they must undergo a second test at a testing facility (free of charge if it is a state health facility) and then self isolate until the result comes out. If the result is positive again the employee will be excused from work to complete a mandatory quarantine.

The government has announced that employers will by fined if employees are found working without having undergone a self-test or not having registered the result on the Ergani platform.

According to Greek infectious diseases expert Gkikas Magiorkinis, since April more than 13 million self-test kits have been distributed to more than 3 million citizens and about 9 million statements have been submitted on the Ergani online platform.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Magiorkinis said that 19,641 positive Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Greece following confirmation of self-test results at testing facilities.