The Cabinet has taken a decision to eliminate the $50 fee that it required all public sector employees to pay in order to undergo rapid antigen tests for covid-19.
“The Cabinet would provide Government employees—whether employed by the Central Government, its Statutory Organizations, or its Public Authorities or Public Corporations—who remain unvaccinated, to take the option of a MoH prescribed Rapid Antigen Covid-19 test once every 14 days at no cost to the government employee”, today’s Cabinet notes read.
The government had initially announced that in order to remain active within their sectors, they would have to either become fully vaccinated or be subjected to rapid-antigen tests every two weeks at their own cost.
That kind of testing cost XCD$260.
Pressure from unions who argued that employees should not be required to pay for a measure mandated by the government, caused the administration to lower the fee to $50.
A recent decision from Cabinet has however annulled the need to pay any fee.