The Czech Republic should begin offering free antigen tests for Covid-19 for all who want them from Dec 18, Health Minister Jan Blatny has been quoted as saying in an interview.

The Czech Republic has been one of the worst-hit countries in Europe in the second wave of the pandemic. It is set to ease some of its measures that have been in place for weeks had have helped to slow the spread of novel coronavirus infections.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday he wanted free testing on a voluntary basis before Christmas, expanding the use of antigen tests, which are faster and logistically easier than standard PCR (swab) tests but less accurate.