Since the start of the health crisis, the federal government in Belgium has already spent almost €1 billion on coronavirus tests, according to reports from La Libre Belgique.
In 2021 alone, €737 million of the total cost of the measures against the coronavirus pandemic (€1.512 billion) was spent on PCR tests and covering the costs of the national COVID testing platform, according to National Institute for Sickness and Disability Insurance (Riziv) estimates from mid-September, disclosed by State Secretary for Budget Eva De Bleeker.
Related News
- What's on the agenda of Belgium's Consultative Committee today?
- Mandatory vaccination for health care workers from 1 April
The test is reimbursed either in full or in part by the Riziv, depending on the type of test and the conditions to be respected.
In the previous year, €230 million was spent on coronavirus tests, bringing the total sum of money spent on the testing strategy to €967 million. Another €11 million was spent on taking samples from travellers and visitors to events, and just over €4 million went towards detecting virus variants.
