The City of Vienna is putting a third corona test center into operation in the area of the Austria Center. This complements the two existing ones in front of the Ernst Happel Stadium and on the Danube Island. The opening will take place on December 1, 2020. The new center specializes in rapid antigen tests.
At the moment, gargle PCR tests are mainly carried out at the other two test centers. The Austria Center relies on rapid tests that should deliver a result within 15 minutes. If this is positive, a PCR smear or gargle test is also taken for verification. The daily capacity is stated by the City of Vienna to be 15.000 examinations per day.
In the medium term, either Test center on the Danube Island or the one in front of the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. A new one is to be opened in the south of the city as a replacement. However, there is no precise schedule for this yet. The test street in front of the football stadium is still there Returning travelers who have their main place of residence in Vienna, available free of charge.
“In September we were able to test 2.000 WU students in a very short time as part of a pilot project that is unique in Europe. We are now very happy to provide the City of Vienna with our experience of planning, implementation and the associated test road logistics, ”says Susanne Baumann-Söllner, Director of the Austria Center Vienna.
The rapid test lanes will be open from December 1st, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 19 p.m. On the covered Bruno-Kreisky-Platz in front of the Austria Center Vienna, there are initially three test streets available for pedestrians without acute symptoms. You can travel there by public transport (U1 station Kaisermühlen-VIC). The target group are visitors to nursing homes as well as employees of the critical infrastructure (e.g. hospitals). People with symptoms are asked to arrive by car and use one of the four test streets in the parking deck. The offer is independent of the federal mass tests, which will take place from December 4 to 13 at three other locations. After the mass tests have been completed, the test street at the Austria Center Vienna can be expanded to a capacity of up to 15.000 tests per day and made available to the entire Viennese population over the winter months.
Online registration required in advance
The result of the antigen test is valid for 24 hours - multiple tests are possible. In order to use the quick test, online registration is necessary in advance; the result of the test is available on site as a printout and then as an SMS. Bring mouth and nose protection, a photo ID (e.g. passport, driver's license or e-card with photo), the social security number and the QR code received upon registration (on the smartphone or printed out).
Standardized process
The procedure for the antigen rapid test route was developed by the Austria Center Vienna as part of the pilot project, adapted in coordination with the City of Vienna and is standardized. All steps are carried out under the guidance of staff on site: After hand disinfection, a nasal or throat swab is taken from the test person by a medical professional. With the swab stick in a test solution one goes to the next station. There a few drops are placed on a test cassette, which shows the test result after a few minutes. After checking the test cassette, you will receive a written confirmation if the result is negative, and an SMS will also be sent afterwards. If the result is positive, the test person is isolated before an additional PCR test and contact tracing are carried out by a medical professional.