Speaking to Lusa, the president of the National Association of Clinical Laboratories (ANL), Nuno Saraiva, said that "most people have the idea that only pharmacies are doing free rapid tests" for Covid-19, but this is also possible in laboratories.

"We believe that many people are not aware [that free tests can also be performed in laboratories] and now, for this Christmas week, there will be many people to test", he said, stressing that there has been "a difficulty in responding" to the people who are going to pharmacies.

The free Covid-19 screening tests can be carried out in clinical laboratories under the exceptional and temporary reimbursement scheme for professional use rapid antigen tests, similarly to what is done in pharmacies.

The list of pharmacies and laboratories where reimbursed tests are carried out can be consulted on the website of the National Authority for Medicines and Health Products (Infarmed) at https://www.infarmed.pt/web/infarmed/testes-covid-19

According to Nuno Saraiva, the ANL has shown “complete availability to help in the collective effort to fight the pandemic”, and its 68 members include “the vast majority of laboratories” in Portugal.