Health care centers in Zagreb now offering quick antigen tests

Antigen tests for Covid-19 are now available at twelve health care centers in Zagreb in an effort to boost testing capacity in the capital, one of Croatia’s flashpoints for the virus.

These tests give results within half an hour and are covered by state health insurance. However, they do require an appointment and the first two days of testing were already booked several days in advance, health care officials said.  These tests are most effective in cases where patients are experiencing early symptoms or may have been exposed to someone with the virus.

"This method of testing is used to identify positive cases in the population as quickly as possible," said the head of the Health Care Center in Downtown Zagreb, Antonija Balenović.

The health care system has allocated some 50 to 60 thousand tests to these centers. They will be performing around 100 tests per day at each location. The antigen tests have been introduced to increase testing capacity, but doctors at these facilities stress that they are meant for people who are experiencing some symptoms, in which case a positive result is very reliable.

It should be noted that a number of private labs do offer the same service with a shorter wait time for those who are willing to pay out of pocket.