Wrong person gets rapid test result after leaving line

Long lines for rapid tests have been reported over the weekend in the Republic of Cyprus, with a mayor of a local town accusing the health ministry of “zero organization” and a woman in the capital who got tired of waiting still getting a result without giving a sample.

Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos posted a video on Facebook over the weekend, showing large crowds waiting for a rapid test at the underground parking of a local shopping mall.

“There is no excuse. The Health Ministry has failed on this issue. Zero organization,” Phedonos said.

The local mayor, who is known for his frequent social media posts either showcasing positive aspects or pointing to problem issues around town, paid a visit at Paphos’ Kings Avenue Mall on Sunday afternoon where he saw large groups of people gathered in the underground parking lot waiting in long lines for a rapid test.

“When the state does not respect its citizens, one day it will receive a similar behavior from the citizens,” Phedonos wrote.

But another social media post on Twitter suggested there were even bigger problems in Nicosia, where a woman on Twitter said she got a test result that belonged to someone else.

The wrote on Twitter that she went to register at a free rapid test site in Strovolos, where she observed two lines, one for registering and another for giving a sample.

“I managed to register but decided to give up as the test line was super long,” she wrote, adding she would have needed even more time after the test to get the result in print.

“So I left. And just got my result. Without doing the test!!!,” she wrote.

An image attached below her comment suggested she had received an official text message from the health ministry, confirming she had tested negative.

Another social media user who commented on the original post suggested the wrong test result could have belonged to her child, who took the test but no SMS text had been sent from the health ministry.

Knews has learned that long waiting lines have also been observed outside local pharmacies over the past two weekends.