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Doctors shouldn't prescribe tests unless there is a medical reason, the health department has said in a memo. Photo: Romain Gamba 

With the Easter holiday approaching, holidaymakers will need a recent, negative coronavirus tests for most destinations. At most laboratories, tests prescribed by doctors are given priority for analysis, followed by people who have a documented reason to travel and, finally, everyone else who simply shows up.

“It is not the role of an attending physician to order PCR tests for travel,” said chief medical officer Jean-Claude Schmit in a memo distributed to healthcare staff on Thursday. “Medical prescriptions for PCR tests must be limited to medical indications, in particular the suspicion of infection in patients with symptoms suggestive of covid-19.”

The doctors and dentists’ association (AMMD) had already spoken out against holiday test prescriptions after a run on requests for the carnival school break. As for private laboratories, only the Ketterthill website mentions that a prescription is required to perform the test.

The Santé urged general practitioners not to issue prescriptions and to redirect patients to private laboratories, such as Bionext or Laboratoires Réunis. "The medical analysis laboratories have confirmed to us that they still have the capacity to perform these tests," said Schmit in his letter.

Large-scale testing--which allows people to get a free test before travelling abroad--is fully booked.

The CNS health insurance fund only reimburses tests prescribed by a doctor. If doctors indicate that the test is for travel purposes--rather than because the patient is suspected of having contracted coronavirus--the test must also be paid out of pocket at a cost of around €60.

This story was first published in French on paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.