Covid-19: the Italian Red Cross on the front line with free and rapid tests in the railways stations of Roma Termini and Milano Centrale
Italy, free and rapid tests in the raliways stations: make testing more and more widespread and accessible
Without any cost, age limit or medical prescription, anyone can get the rapid antigenic tests in the structures set up by the Italian Red Cross (ItRC)
Thanks to the FS Group that has made the spaces available to the ItRC, the project will start on the 15th April with the stations of Roma Termini and Milano Centrale and then extend the screening in the railway stations of other nine cities (Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Florence Santa Maria Novella, Naples Centrale, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Turin Porta Nuova and Venice Santa Lucia).
The initiative, made possible thanks to funding by the European Commission, allows for up to 3,000 antigen tests per day to be carried out throughout the Country.
From the 16th April, the first ‘Covid-tested’ trains will also start thanks to the collaboration with the FS Group.
The staff and passengers of two high-speed trains (Roma Termini – Milano Centrale at 8.50 am and Milano Centrale-Roma Termini at 6.00 pm) will be able to take the rapid test every day for free in the two hours prior to the departure of the train.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic – stated Francesco Rocca, President of the Italian Red Cross and President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – the Red Cross all over the world, thanks to its millions of volunteers, has put in place extraordinary and relentless activities to fight the spread of the virus and to provide answers to all the vulnerabilities arising as a consequence of this situazion.
Furthermore, in Italy, the results of the commitment of the ItRC are impressive: from the medical transportation to home activities during the the lockdown, from socio-economic and psychological support to the management of large vaccination hubs.
Now this new tool of free rapid tests near the railway stations, possible thanks to the collaboration with the FS Group, will allow an even more effective mapping of the virus and will guarantee greater safety Croce Rossa Italiana Comitato Nazionale Ufficio Stampa for all travelers.
We want return to normality, take back our lives and start again, in every sense.
This has been our commitment for over a year and it will never stop”.
The overall aim of the project is to strengthen the screening capacity and thus reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
The costs are borne by the Italian Red Cross thanks to the contribution of the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety – DG SANTE) which, through an agreement with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has allocated 35.5 million euros to screening activities in seven European countries (Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain) carried out by the respective Red Cross National Societies.
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