The large-scale testing centre in Howald will switch from throat swab to saliva tests on 9 August, the health ministry announced online.

Under the new testing method, samples are no longer taken by swabbing the back of a person’s throat. Instead, the person being tested spits in a cup. However, for the PCR test to work properly, this means the person being tested should not eat, drink, smoke, chew gum, rinse their mouth or brush their teeth half an hour before the test.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in May said that saliva tests showed an overall similar sensitivity compared to nasopharyngeal swabs. “Saliva samples collection is easy, non-invasive, more acceptable for repeat testing and can be performed by non-healthcare professionals,” it said.

Evidence supports that saliva sampling can be used as an alternative for repeated screening of asymptomatic individuals, the ECDC said further. However, it added that “nasopharyngeal specimens remain the gold standards for covid-19 testing.”