The Lithuanian government will provide 30 million euros to help lockdown-hit small and medium-sized businesses test their employees for Covid-19. Pool testing has been suggested for larger firms.
“The aim is to ensure that the business reopening process is smooth, that people who return to work are safe, and that employers can stay in business and develop it safely,” Economy Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė told the cabinet on Monday.
Eligible businesses will receive 12 euros per rapid antigen test or rapid serological antibody test, she said.
The allocated funds will be sufficient to test around 100,000 employees. One person will be allowed to be tested up to 12 times in three months.
Armonaitė said the measure would not require the European Commission's approval.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said last week that the measure would financially help and motivate employers, especially SMEs, to test their employees and make the reopening of businesses as safe as possible.
Alternative support for large firms
The Lithuanian government is currently discussing an alternative method of coronavirus testing that could be used in large companies, Prime Minister Šimonytė said on Tuesday.
“In recent weeks, we've been discussing some other testing methods that would allow large-scale pool testing in large organisations and [...] perhaps we could offer other solutions to large companies to test their employees on a regular basis,” Šimonytė told LRT RADIO.
“We're now going to try this method in schools,” she added.
Pooled testing allows testing several people with only one test. If a pool of samples tests positive, all individuals in the pool are retested.
The prime minister noted that some counties are already using the method.
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